Characteristics of a successful teacher... How to win the hearts and minds of students

Characteristics of a successful teacher... How to win the hearts and minds of students

Have you ever wondered about the qualities of a successful teacher? When I was young, I was asked about the subjects that I liked the most, and what subjects I hated. After I answered the questionnaire, he concerned them with the following sentence and said to my parents: “The teacher is the only one who can make students love the subject, no matter how difficult it is, and if the teacher is successful, you will see that 90% of His students love the subject, but if you see that this percentage is from those who hate that subject, know that he is a failed teacher.”

So, a successful teacher can make a big difference in a student's life, which affects his academic and practical life, from classroom learning to his long-term success. So if you want to become a teacher in the future, make sure that you are a successful teacher, not just a teacher. But how is a teacher successful? Or when do we say about a teacher that he is successful?

The most important qualities of a successful teacher are

The teacher is the only one who can make the students love the subject, no matter how difficult it is, and there are qualities that the teacher can possess in order to win the hearts and minds of the students.

The successful teacher possesses strong communication skills

When you enter a classroom for the first time, and you see that your students are frustrated with your material, feel fear of it, hate and frustration, and the inability to see any positive side in it, know that they have had previous bitter experiences with this subject, and their teacher was not able to encourage them to learn it. And here comes your first role, which is to communicate well with your students so that you know their weaknesses in this subject, and why it is hated by them.

Having strong communication skills means being able to penetrate the mind of each student, make him say everything in his mind clearly and acknowledge his point of view, and then try to make him look at the material from a positive point of view for him. For example, if the subject is mathematics, students can be taught how to apply it in their daily lives, in their hobbies, sports, and even their future jobs! Dr. Daniel Tanguay notes; A senior associate dean for education programs and faculty, notes the importance of communication by saying:

An effective teacher is a good listener

To communicate well with the students, it is not enough for the teacher to be a good talker, he must also be a good listener. Listening is one of the best qualities of a successful teacher. When the teacher devotes some time in the class to listen to his students, or even give them the security of expressing their opinions, then he will be able to know the fears of each student, and this is sometimes done by reading the lines behind the students’ words, or even from the way Their words the teacher can understand a lot, and here the teacher tries to help the student and build his self-confidence in the way the teacher sees that this student can develop.

The successful teacher focuses on collaborating with fellow teachers

While some teachers try to withdraw into their knowledge, as they believe that they are unique and that their experience and skill are exclusive to them, others share the knowledge and try to raise the problems they face to find different solutions that they may not think of, or were unaware of, and here We see the effects of collaboration among teachers, on the future of teaching.

There is a teacher's assistant, a vocational assistant, as well as the teachers of other classes, all of these exist, you do not work alone, and this requires trying to cooperate with everyone and learn from their experiences and teach them from your experiences, for example.

The ability to adapt is one of the qualities of a creative teacher

One of the most important qualities of a creative teacher is the ability to adapt to change since the condition of the teaching profession is like that of other professions. A successful teacher needs to be able to work in an ever-evolving environment and be able to adjust their teaching style, based on the age of their students and the possibility of changing curricula and teaching requirements.

Any teacher with more than 15 years of experience can notice the tremendous changes that are taking place in the field of education, especially with the advent of the Internet, computers, and modern technologies, but the matter remains in the hands of the teacher. Does he adapt to these changes, renew with them, and continue? Or is he standing in his place, amazed at what is happening? Collaboration also plays a big role here. Anyone with experience and openness to change can adapt quickly and help other teachers adapt too!

Dr. Daniel Tanguay also said: The ability to adapt is also one of the necessary basic skills required to be a teacher who can teach students of varying levels, or with different learning styles.

The creative teacher is also sympathetic

Sometimes, we notice that some teachers follow the official method in dealing with their students, that is, they do not laugh, joke, or even interact with any of their students' condition, whatever it may be. Simply put, this approach is very wrong, because empathy and trying to win the hearts of students is a very important steps to being a successful teacher.

We all know that intelligence is a degree, and Muhammad may have a slightly higher degree of intelligence than Ahmed, but the teacher should not deal with both of them in the same way, Muhammad needs appreciation, and Ahmed needs sympathy, encouragement, and appreciation for his efforts as well, so we cannot look at Ahmed as if he has little understanding, or lazy. The teacher must treat each student individually, taking into account everything that is going on in the life of this student, his circumstances, for example, his ability to respond and learn, and other things. Try to make the students an open book in front of you, and write positive points in their hearts.

Patience is the most important rule to being successful in any profession

Any profession in the world needs patience: patience during its learning, during the implementation of the work resulting from its learning, and patience during the transition to higher levels of learning, but the teaching profession in particular needs patience more than any other profession. With a client, or a manager and different clients daily, you deal with students who will accompany you for at least a whole year, daily, you will meet the same faces, and you will bear the harshness of some and the quarrelsomeness of others, this is not the cases of students that require the request of parents; Parents must be more patient than their children, since the child often does not convey the whole truth, and the father will defend him by the nature of parenting. So be a patient, successful teacher!

The creative teacher shares practical experiences with his students

Whether the educational material is scientific or literary, the teacher must involve his students in presenting the material in a practical way, such as conducting experiments in the classroom, chemistry experiments, mathematics, reciting poetry, making plays, and others so that students will receive the material more smoothly, and on the other hand, It will plant self-confidence in the depths of every student, and each time, this confidence will grow more and more.

Do not leave any of your students isolated during these practices, pay attention to everyone, support those who participate, and encourage the fearful or the shy. You can encourage him by experimenting yourself, by speaking to him with smiles and encouragement, and by asking him questions, for example.

Checking students' understanding is part of the educational process

Your message as a teacher does not succeed by dictating the lesson to your students and then asking: “Are there any questions? No matter how creative you are in your subject, you will not be successful in the eyes of your students, their parents, your school, and your profession, if you are taught only speech. You should try to make sure they understand what you are saying, by checking their understanding during each lesson.

The previous process allows you to answer students' questions, provide a deeper understanding of the topic of the lesson, and ascertain the level of comprehension of each student, and here you can provide your feedback.

Honesty

t's okay, to be honest about your school life previously, and to be true to any promise you make to them, for example, if you say to them we'll be out in the last 10 minutes of class if you make sure you understand the lesson, and later you make sure they understand the lesson, get them out. If they ask you why you chose this teaching subject, or anything else you can answer, answer and do not put barriers between you and them, of course, if you can answer, otherwise try to explain the meaning of privacy to the students and show them with the respect that their question is private, for example, and you will not be able to answer about him. You will teach them honesty, respect, and acceptance of each other's privacy, and they will love you, believe me.

The successful teacher does not stop at a certain limit in learning

One of the qualities of a successful teacher and effective teacher is a dedication to teaching and a love of continuous learning. Whether it is your continuous learning within the scope of your subject, learning new and modern means of communicating information to students or even educating ways to deal with students, this in itself is a success. You must remain open to any new experiences, keep up to date with any new learning culture, and constantly renew yourself.

In the end, one last piece of advice, whatever your profession is, try to love it first to become successful in it.