Teachers are never born great, they become great. If you ask anyone, ‘Who is a great teacher?, they will invariably look back at one of their teachers from the past and go on to narrate qualities of that teacher. Good teachers linger in our minds forever. Alexander the Great summarizes it well when he says, “I am indebted to my father for living, but to my teacher for living well”. A teacher and the qualities he or she demonstrates have a great impact on the overall development of an individual.Here I recall an anecdote related to one of my favourite teachers, Sir Wasant Elwin, who was my English teacher. Once in the midst of a serious lesson, I stood up and asked him, “Sir,when are you going to get married?” He retorted, “Don’t worry, Sandra. You will marry much before me”. Neither was I thrown out of the class, nor was the lesson disrupted. That’s exactly how a good teacher would handle situations in a classroom. It is not easy to list qualities commonly shared by great teachers. However, if I have to narrow down on five characteristics of a good teacher, they will be as follows:

Rapport with students

The COVID 19 Pandemic has put a lot of professionals, especially teachers in the spotlight. This is because they are called upon to interact and build a relationship with students without meeting them in person. Building a good rapport is difficult in the normal times, and it becomes even more difficult in crisis situations as now. In order to develop good rapport, teachers need to take on multiple roles such as those of friends, mentors, educators and life coaches. A good rapport can ensure that students become motivated and learning happens in the process. As Benjamin Franklin said, “Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn”. A simple thing as calling students by their names make a difference to their motivation to learn. Gathering background information about your students, using examples related to your students in classroom and having friendly chitchats with your students before and after class are some of the ways in which a teacher can build a good rapport with their students.

Passion for teaching

Love for teaching is very important for a teacher. This is even more true because of the long hours of work and sometimes low pay for teachers. Once a teacher has passed the probation period, one can safely conclude that they are passionate about teaching, although people might argue that it’s also because of the financial security that teaching provides. My answer to such people would be that teachers need to live too. If a teacher is passionate about their teaching, it rubs on to the wards under them, and thereby makes learning possible. If you love what you teach, students will love what they learn. Teaching is very challenging, and teachers need to keep this passion alive by finding new opportunities and new outlets for their creativity and energy.

Innovative trait

A good teacher is innovative and makes their lessons stimulating. It is controversial, but it’s true that good teachers often do their job without worrying too much about “what the principal will think”. They do not hesitate to take risks and deviate from their plans and come up with interesting ways of teaching on the spot. An innovative teacher also allows students to become independent in their thinking – the best gift a child can take way from their school life.Creating a sense of creative sense and knowledge in students is one of the most important qualities of a teacher. As the American writer, William Arthur Ward puts it, “The mediocre teacher tells, the good teacher explains, the superior teacher demonstrates, and the great teacher inspires”. In order for a teacher to inspire their students, they need to find new ways to make their classes stimulating and thereby engage the students more.

Being a learner

Education is an area which keeps changing. Fresh theories and approaches to teaching and learning are emerging constantly. For example, although we have been deep into the age of technology for some time, no teacher has learned so much about technology as they have learned in the last few months on account of the pandemic. Teachers never stop learning; they have to constantly update themselves and be ready to adapt to new situations and new approaches to teaching. As John Cotton Dana says, “Who dares to teach must never cease to learn”. Teachers need to accept with both hands every developmental opportunity that comes their way. For instance, in the current situation, educational organizations around the world are offering a lot of opportunities for teachers to update themselves and be better equipped to handle online classes.

Confidence in Subject Knowledge

A good teacher needs to have confidence in the knowledge of the material being taught and confidence in their teaching ability. Deep knowledge in the subject matter can make a difference between achievement and non-achievement. When you are confident that you know you’re in the right spot doing what you want to be doing, it is beneficial both for the student and for yourself. This is why teaching is immensely rewarding in spite of all the stress related to it.

To summarize, a good teacher is not just a teacher; he or she appears different to different individuals. Good teachers love what they teach, love the pupils who learn from them and love to learn from the individuals he or she teaches. In my long years of teaching service, I have touched lives and developed many of these and more qualities that have made me what I am today. I may not be a great teacher, but I am certain that my students will remember me as a good teacher. My only hope is that I will continue to inspire many more students to be good human beings.

- By Sandra Abraham, TGT, Asst. Teacher