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Outstanding in Your Field: What It Takes to Be a Great Teacher
July 16, 2008 | Ben JohnsonI am reading a book by Steven Covey called The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness, which he wrote to help organizations and individuals find their voices. The premise of the book is that if you don't do this, you or your organization will not be able to achieve greatness. I highly recommend that you read it, and I will gladly lend it to you when I am done with it, but that is not the focus of this post.
I considered the word greatness for a long while. I asked myself this question: "What does it mean in education?" Then I started thinking about my career.
I never thought of myself as a great teacher. I certainly had passion, enthusiasm, and creativity, but I never thought I had the stuff for greatness; I did the best I knew how with the resources that were available. I found myself always thinking about what I could do to improve my lessons, to overcome negative student behaviors, or to encourage individual students, while at the same time, I pondered my own shortcomings. My strategies and skills were not unique. Aside from a little bit of personal flair, they were the compilation of wisdom and experience gained mostly from other teachers.
Although I was not great, I would like to believe that I was an above-average teacher. As most teachers do, I went through the typical three-step teacher-attitude cycle:
- Whoa! This is too much, and I want out.
- The students don't care. The administration doesn't support us.
- I can do this. This is fun. Get out of my way, and let me do my job. If I help just one student, it is worth it.
I was able to get out of the second-phase trap of negativity and into the third, self-actualized phase because of wonderful mentor teachers who helped me understand that it helps no one to complain and point fingers. Mr. Devereaux, the Spanish department head, taught me that I first had to be the solution to all my problems, and then I could enjoy the excitement and challenges of the journey. I don't think I was an effective teacher until I learned that lesson.
As teachers are required to do, I attended workshops and teacher meetings in which I was inspired to be great. I saw Stand and Deliver, which depicts how a high school math teacher, Jaime Escalante, challenged the mental and social limitations his students had placed on themselves, thereby bringing them to greatness. I felt that if I could be that passionate about teaching students, I could do anything. Then I went back into the classroom and faced the reality that I had only a certain amount of time, strength, and energy, and my desire for greatness faded a bit, though I never let it die completely.
When I decided to become an administrator, that spark of desire for greatness was rekindled and refocused: I wanted to inspire other teachers to be great and thus pass that on to their students. So here I am.
I have seen that spark of greatness in you when I have been in your classrooms and watched you interact with the students. Recently, I have been a first grader, a second grader, and an eighth grader (and I will soon be a ninth grader), and I have witnessed elements of your greatness firsthand while spending the entire day at your campuses and in your classes.
In the second part of this post, I describe these experiences in more detail and pose some questions about greatness for you to ponder, but please share your thoughts about what I've discussed here.
Comments (178)
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In my Masters class I too
In my Masters class I too just had the assignment to describe myself on the novice to expert continuum. I am in my fourth year of teaching and obviously do not consider myself an expert. I agree that one may never become an expert because things are constantly changing and teachers need to continue their education, keep up with the latest trends in education, and keep attending professional development seminars. After many years of teaching, reflecting on your teaching practices, changing as you see fit, and learning new ideas a teacher will become closer to being an expert teacher. I also think that one does not have to be an expert in order to be a great teacher. By continuing my education I feel that I am on my way to greatness and getting closer to being an expert.
I also had this assignment
I also had this assignment in my Master's program. I also had a difficult time with the second part. There is a lot of reflection that went into that second part of the assignment and I realized that reflection is not something I do enough of, on a regular basis. I think we are all working hard to go towards that expert end of the spectrum. In one of the DVDs that I watched for class, a teacher being interviewed commented that teachers never reach expert status. She stated that we should always be working to move forward and learning more. I don't know if I agree with that teacher 100%, but I think she may have a partial point. There are teachers in my building that I consider experts. I put myself in the novice category, as well. I agree with you wholeheartedly about refelction being one of the cornerstone of one's career.
A recipe for greatness
I think that becoming a great teacher is a life-time process, however I believe that every teacher is great in one or more areas, but I think that it is hard to have it all. Here is what I think that I need to reach the greatness as a teacher; Plenty of content knowledge, tons of experience, lots of passion, care, and love. (don't forget endless effort)
After reading Robert J. Garnston's article titled "Becoming expert teachers", I thought that one of the most important knowledge areas in teaching is to have a strong content knowledge, because that gives the teacher the flexibility in their teaching and provide the students with better learning opportunities, it also allows the teacher to be more focused on his students and to use an appropriate techniques based on his knowledge of their background, culture, gender, and style prefrences.
Great Teachers
I teach first grade in an inner-city school and like our auther attend many trainings and are even pursuing a masters degree. What really struck me was how much I identify with Mr. Johnson's issues of what he has learned, knowledge, techniques, etc., verses what the school day actually allows you to incorporate. To be a great teacher you do need to constantly be persuing more knowledge and be a student yourself. The realism of time, tests, and general structure of what is expected of a teacher can squash the 'spark' he mentioned. Where this would discourage a new/novice teacher a great teacher would know how to pull themselves up having enough knowledge of how to look for greatness in themselves and their students. It was a little discouraging to hear that he had to change jobs (administration) to truly rekindle his goal of greatness.
Novice-to-Expert Teacher
A recent assignment in my Masters program was to describe the novice and the expert teacher. Then we were asked to place ourselves along the novice to expert continuum.
I had a difficult time with the second part of the assignment.
When I read the author's paragraph about never considering himself a great teacher it echoed my own feelings. I have a hard time considering myself to be an expert teacher. I know that I have my strengths but I also have many areas that require some improvement. Each year seems to bring its own unique challenges.
I think that it is the way one responds to those challenges that can make a teacher great. Reflection, willingness to adjust, and seeking out what's best for students are what I see as the cornerstones for greatness in one's teaching career.
Stuck
I have been teaching for three years, and I think I am still trying to get out of phase one. I am not quite as determined to run as I was in the first couple of years. I am at the point I guess that I will stick with it. Now, it is a matter of moving forward into the "I know what I'm doing" realm.
Greatness
Greatness is something that every teacher must believe they have. Weather it be the love for teaching all the way to knowing everything there is in education. By holding a small part of greatness will endure the success of ones career. One must believe before they can apply.
Even though I have only been teaching for two years I feel that I hold greatness because of the expectations I hold for my students and the amount of time and energy I put into teaching. However, I know that I have a great deal to learn but I believe in myself and my students to succeed. As my principal says to us after learning anything new: "If you don't use it, you lose it."
One Student
Schools need to share this same story at staff meetings more often. So many teachers worry about larger problems that they have no control over and as a result they loose their self efficacy and burn out sets in. As you said, reaching that one student is all it takes to make a difference. This not only will benefit that particular student, but it is very uplifting to know that you have made some sort of connection with that child.
Jacquelle
Great Teachers
Great teachers are people you want to be around. They are knowledgable but more importantly they are fun and interesting individuals who teach you as they continue to learn themselves. I believe I have experienced moments of greatness but it has not yet become a part of my everyday life. I do not think I have to give things up as much as I have to adjust my priorities and time management skills to become great. All great teachers do not have the same type of classroom. However, a kind welcoming environment where students feel valued and important is a must. My first step toward greatness, will be to continue to learn something new each day and to help my students do the same. I cannot ask them to do something I am not willing to do myself.
Ripples in the pond
H.Y. Griffin:
Teaching is hard. Inspiring learning is even harder as your work at the Center for Inspired Teaching has probably shown you. Teachers need amazing support and inspiration, especially in the first few years, and that is what it sounds like your organization is doing. Keep up the good work!
You mentioned ripples in a school from just one teacher moving to stage 3. I know this to be true. I was a Spanish teacher, and in the Foreign Language department at Fontana High School, in Fontana, CA. I moved into stage three while I was there and when that happened, ripples happened. I felt students should have a way to show what they had learned in their language. I mentioned my mentor, Mr. Devereaux in my blogg, he and I got our heads together and came up with a plan. Working with the other great teachers in the department, we established a day of Multi-cultural celebration. Each teacher's class would show-case their particular language that they had been learning by decorating their classrooms on the inside and the outside preparing talents, dances, skits, and fashion shows in the their learned language. We were in portable buildings in two rows facing each other and we decorated the space between with sidewalk chalk paintings, colorful banners, posters, displays, and country flags. We invited students from different cultures to also display their heritage and language in booths and a bazaar-like food court. One of the highlights of the celebration, was the multi-cultural dance festival where Tongans, Fiji Islanders, Philipino, Taiwanese, Mexican, Guatemalan, Pakistani, German, and several other groups of students performed their native dances. The first year was such a success that the entire school was invited to see it. The next year, it became two days, and the following year it was an entire week. It was a huge ripple and it changed the way that the school operated. Where once all of these cultures collided dangerously, now, they worked together and actively shared and appreciated the best of each others' cultures. It changed the students, the teachers and the community.
Ripples start small and we never know how big they will get or how large their effect will be.
Thanks for making ripples.
Best Regards,
Ben Johnson
Natalia,TX