Teachers go through training before they enter into actual the classroom teaching but each day and every class provides some valuable experience to teachers to teach better and do their duty to the best of their ability.
A teacher who discharges her duties sincerely is a multitasker which might not be in any other profession. Classroom management – Involves diversified tasks of effective presentation of subject, involvement of students in discussion, to hold the attention of every child in the classroom, productive learning by children, discipline in the class, etc. A teacher must know the names of all the children in a class to develop a good rapport with them. A teacher with good classroom management skills involving dealing with varied children can manage the family, friends and relatives with ease.
John Henrik Clarke: A good teacher, like a good entertainer, first must hold his audience’s attention, and then he can teach his lesson.
Utilisation of resources – Use of textbook, various reference books in preparing notes, designing worksheets and question papers, usage of labs for practical approach of concepts for better understanding and develop good observation skills, usage of ICT, taking students to school garden to teach science or languages, social etc. will help good learning in children. This can be co-related with skills shown at home to manage house budget or expenditure, cooking with available items, to carry out household work, etc.
Alice Wellington Rollins : The test of a good teacher is not how many questions he can ask his pupils and get answers but how many questions he inspires them to ask him which he finds it hard to answer.
Proper subject knowledge and effective presentationof concepts is one of the vital areas of the teacher’s responsibilities. We may find multiple ways of teaching or presentation of concepts in the classroom but identifying the method which is simple but gives utmost clarity and long term retention can be achieved by appropriate illustrations along with supportive teaching aids.
To keep updating the teaching methodology suits the creative children. A teacher may be well qualified and have good subject knowledge but if the subject is not delivered properly the person may not be suitable take up the teaching profession.
Albert Einstein: It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge.
Correction work – Correction of notebooks, worksheets, assignments, answer scripts, etc is ongoing work for a teacher which gives a clear feed back of work readiness or performance of students. The performance of students in tests and analysis of the results is an eye opener for the teacher to take necessary action to improve scores.
William Arthur Ward: The mediocre Teacher tells, the good Teacher explains, the superior Teacher demonstrates and the great Teacher inspires. Designing question papers and worksheets – Preparation of question papers and worksheets involves proper planning of design of question paper.The Teacher has to design questions pertaining to assessment of knowledge, understanding, application and skills, to carefully check the difficulty level of question paper- like 30% of questions must be easy, 30% of difficult level and rest 40% should be of average difficulty level.
Ralph Waldo Emerson: A person who can make hard things easy is the educator.
Examination duty– Conduct of examination or invigilation duty of a teacher involves utmost attention and punctuality.
Smooth conduct of exam is an important task for a teacher.
Bob Talbert: Teaching students to count is fine, but teaching them what counts is best.
A continuous learner- A teacher has to be a continuous learner to update her subject knowledge, as students ask varied questions whether relevant or irrelevant. There is need to improve subject knowledge by reading related books and think of innovative ideas to teach the lessons which can arouse interest in the subject and correlate to daily life. Before teaching a concept the teacher can plan how to introduce the topic with a good illustration or an activity and carry on the topic to retain the interest of the child.
Ruth Beechick: The teacher who loves learning earns the right and ability to help others learn. Involvement in school cultural programmes – Any function or programme in a school cannot be carried on without the involvement of teachers. This involves co-ordination among teachers. Teachers identify the children with talent or enthusiastic children who need guidance to bring out their talents and to showcase their talent.
Mark Van Doren: The art of Teaching is the art of assisting Discovery.
Moral support and values– It is rightly said that ‘a Teacher is mother at school and mother at home is a Teacher’. The motivation and guidance given by a Teacher plays a vital role in directing a child on a positive track of development. Children look at parents and teachers as role models. Appreciation by a teacher gives multifold confidence and happiness to the child and will mould him into a successful person.
Lily Tomlin: The best Teacher gives you something to take home to think about, besides homework.
Mediator between school and parents- The interaction between teacher and parents helps both to know the needs of the child at home as well as in school. The feed back given by teachers with regard to academic performance or disciplinary issues enables the parents to handle situations carefully at home. At the same time the feed back of parents about children helps the teacher to handle the child carefully.
Quote: If children come from strong and healthy background, the Teacher’s job becomes easier; if not it makes the Teacher’s job more important.
Following are the skills a Teacher should possess:
- Presentation skills
- Listening skills
- l Communication skills
- Leadership skills
- Problem solving skills
- Team building skills
- Time management skills
- Negotiation skills
- Counselling skills
- Assertiveness skills
- Conflict management skills
A teacher needs to be a multitasker and multitalented. Without Teachers there are no doctors, no engineers, no lawyers, no bankers no sculptors, no politicians. Teaching is the basis of every facet of society.
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