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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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Need to Laugh
Errica:
I think that it is possible to learn life lessons from everything we do. The more hilarious the better. I am glad you enjoyed it. Probably more than the message, the process of what I was trying to say is the important thing. Being a teacher is a 24-7 job and we are always thinking about how we can resolve issues in the class. Ideas for lessons and activities have come to me at all hours and in any situation. I have learned to trust these moments of inspiration. So when I had that epic battle with the barbed wire, the same kinds of frustrations that I felt as a teacher came back to me, along with the solutions for handling the issues. I wasn't going to let that wire get the best of me. As teachers,we just keep trying until we figure it out. Persistence is truly a "teacher" characteristic that helps us ignore the insignificant scratches we get along the way. Wear them with pride!
Best Regards,
Ben Johnson (author)
Natalia,TX
Expert Teachers
Lisa:
Thank you for stumbling across my blog, although I am not sure I believe in coincidence. Your comments seem to reflect a pretty common sentiment among experienced teachers. It takes a bit of honesty to realize where we have been and where we should be. Congratulations on going back to school. I bet you are finding a couple of things that I found. 1st, Going back to school as a more mature adult, I discovered that I had become a much better student. I could actually listen, take notes and remember what was discussed. 2nd, and even more importantly, I was able to really get into the discussions and look at the text with a critical eye rather than just accepting everything as fact. A whole new world of connections opened up and I could see immediate applications of my new knowledge.
You are wondering what to do about the administrator problem? You already know the answer. Step three takes care of that! Good luck and most of all, have fun with your students!
Best Regards,
Ben Johnson (Author)
Natalia, TX
What does it mean to be outstanding in your field?
I don't think that there is a single answer to what it takes to be outstanding in our field. There are several qualities that great teachers have in common, or combinations of characteristics that make a teacher unique and effective. I really enjoyed reading this blog and am particularly interested in reading the book "The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness" that Ben Johnson writes about. It is intriguing to me that there is a book which describes a process for an individual to find their voice.
I also enjoyed reading Johnson's three stages of attitudes that a teacher goes through. I think that this is a truly honest depiction of some of the feelings that we as teachers go through. I think what is most important is moving on from phase to phase, and not being stuck on the negative phases. Once phase three is reached, a teacher needs to stay positive and continue their education so that he/she stays innovative and grows towards being a true professional.
Best Hope
I have been teaching for three years now and so far I'm in step 3 of the teacher attitude cycle. I think I only spent a little bit of time in step 1 during my first week of teaching but so far so good. I think what has helped me stay in step 3 are a few factors including workshops & wonderful mentor teachers. When I attend a workshop, class, seminar, etc. I always find myself inspired and recharged. I can't wait to get back to school and implement what I've learned. I have found that this helps me get through any slumps I may have. I also have a wonderful mentor who I can go to for any pep talks when I find myself sliding out of step 3.
The last part of step 3 when it says If I help just one student, then it worth it reminds me of a something I heard at a recent seminar I attended by Larry Bell. He said "On your worst day on the job, you are still some child's best hope." I think the thought of making a difference in even one child's life is what keeps me going and truly motivated.
Great Teachers
Like many of those responding to your blog, I too came across this as part of a search for a blog that was addressing discussions we are having in a Master's course I am taking. So thank you for your interesting and informative take on what it means to be a great teacher.
The course I am taking is promoting a lot of self-reflection about where we are on the continuum from novice to expert teacher, and to whether or not we are great teachers. I really appreciated reading this blog because it helped me to realize that I am going through much of what you went through in your career. I think I am currently on Step 2, and have been realizing over the summer that it is time to take responisbility for my job, and accept the fact that it is my job to teach kids, no matter whether my administration is good or bad. So come September I think I will be in "Get out of my way and let me do it!" mode. I think you are very correct to say that we cannot be effective teachers until we reach the self-actualized phase. It is hard to be an effective teacher if you are allowing so many other things to get in the way.
Thanks!
Novice-to-Expert
This is the very topic we have been discussing in my graduate course this week. What does it mean to be an expert teacher? I don't really think there is a correct answer to that. In this ever-changing world how can we possibly declare ourselves an expert when what we learned today can possibly be obsolete next week. There is always something new to learn and a different way to approach that same old curriculum that one has been teaching for years.
Hilarious & Relevant
Ben,
I found your barbed wire analogy hilarious and extremely relevant. You did an excellent job of capturing the feelings of frustration and the determination to keep trying that many teachers encounter in their classroom management. The rules you had to learn in order to deal with barbed wire definitely resonated within me because I am continually learning the rules to effectively running my classroom. When I first started teaching I fought to make the class bend to my will and I was convinced that classroom management was simply all students doing whatever task you assigned without incident. Needless to say, I was wrong and the harder I pushed my kids, the harder they pushed back. Over time, I think I have learned how to read the mood of my class. There are some days when students seem supercharged and bent on going left if I say we need to go right and I have had to channel that energy into something positive and worthwhile. Similar to your trials with the barbed wire, I think I got plenty of nicks and cuts while trying to figure out how to run an organized class that is conducive to learning.
Common Denominators in Great Teachers
As part of my Masters program, I have been instructed to search for and participate in an education-based blog. I am already ecstatic to have stumbled upon this site- Mr. Johnson's views are fantastic and they parallel much of what we are currently covering in the course.
I think that all great teachers have one main thing in common- they don't consider themselves great, but their colleagues and students do. Great teachers spend their time living in the third phase of the teacher-attitude cycle, inspiring their students and urging them to be great. Their satisfaction is derived from the success of their students. As a new teacher, this inspires me to be the best I can be for my students on a daily basis.
New Insights
I too have never though of myself as a great teacher. I do inspire to be one though. Part of my low feelings is that I keep getting job interviews and then not selected for the job. I have a bacholers degree and I'm currently working on my masters, however I am only a teaching assistant. I would love to have my own classroom some day. Reading this, you have given my new ideas and thoughts, new insights. Thank you, I can't wait to read your next post.
Stage One: Occupied
I will be beginning my first year of teaching in a couple of days, and I am currently at your stage one. I have attended meetings after meetings, and I feel like a tiny fish in a tank with a whale. I am very hopeful after reading your blog because it reminds me that great teachers once sat in the same position as I sit today. Hopefully, the first stage will quickly pass when my students walk through the door and ownership of my teaching and students will come. Until that day, I will continue to try to out swim the whale.