ALT-4 What Abilities must you have to become a Teacher
To be a great teacher, one must be Superman! That is somewhat of a joke, but teachers do possess many super qualities. The stronger these qualities, the better the teacher. Think about the multitude of teachers and professors you've had in the past. Many of them probably had similar characteristics, such as the following:
1. Enthusiasm and a great attitudeIn any profession, having a love of the job and a positive attitude goes a long way. Teaching is no exception. It's just more of a challenge because you are guiding 31 different personalities at a time, then switching to new personalities every hour. Sometimes maintaining that positive attitude is extremely hard, but kids can tell if your heart's not in it, and if it's not, then they will feel like it's not worth their effort either.
2. OrganizationTo each his own here. You don't have to be so super-organized that everything is down to be color coded, but it is imperative to have good record-keeping skills and to keep track of everything. When you have 150 (or more) students to keep track of, this is imperative. Papers must be accounted for, as do grades, attendance, discipline problems, permission slips, and a variety of other paperwork. Without some organization, the average teacher would go insane.
3. AdaptabilityEvery day is a new day, with new challenges. Even the best laid plans can be "ruined" by some small problem. The challenge is to not let that phase you and to keep going, making it seem as though nothing happened at all. Each new student brings their own personalities and qualities to the classroom environment, so being able to work with all of these people (and at the same time no less), takes a high level of adaptation.
4. KnowledgeIf students could just go on the internet and learn everything from reading websites, teachers would be obsolete. But a knowledgeable teacher can be a great influence on a student's life. This doesn't just mean knowledge of content area (which is certainly important) but knowledge of overall skills to help guide students to rise to their full potential.
5. Good work ethicLots of people think that teachers just work 7:30-2:30 and then their day is done. Au contraire, mon ami! There is planning, grading, bus duty, extracurricular activities, and giving extra help to students after school. If you aren't willing to do all this extra stuff on the side that's included in your salary, then you probably should be looking at another profession.
And finally, teachers have to care. They have to care about what happens to their students, even when those kids frustrate them. Even when parents gripe at them. Even when administrators and colleagues don't support them and they just feel like giving up. Because in the end, being a teacher is about helping others, and if you can't do that in spite of all the external distractions, it will be a hard road.
