Describing teachers

Hi everyone! Welcome to the first entry of the final register😅

On the previous entry I described learners and what their characteristics are and for today's entry I will be describing some of the characteristics that make a great and reliable teacher.

If I am being honest, I had never thought about what makes a good teacher and even when I was in high school I never stopped for a minute to think about the negative or the positive aspects about my teachers, I just thought they were good overall. But now I know so much more about a teacher's characteristics and we can describe them by the following: Their role in the class, their organization prior a lesson, their performance, their rapport, them as a teaching aid and whether they are native speakers or non-native speakers.

1. Their role in the class: Some words associated to teachers can be: Controllers, meaning that they are always leading from the front of the class and they are in control of their students and are an authority. Prompter, since they are always the ones reminding the students about a task's instructions or explain an activity. Participant, because they always have to be active in any class discussion and they have to keep their student's participation going. Resource, since they always answer any questions that their students might have and they are always available to help and they explain their students what they still don't know. And, tutor, they always give a positive or negative feedback so their students can keep on working on what they lack.

2. Their organization prior a lesson: I can't even imagine how much effor goes into preparing a class, teachers have to do their own research on class relevant information, they have to plan their classes ahead and create Power Point presentations or look for videos that their students might find interesting, they have to study and master a topic completely since their students might have high expectations on what they will be taught.

3. Their performance: Teachers are like actors and chaemeleons as well, I would say. They vary their behavior and act differently according to what they have to teach or what the topic is, some teachers might have to teach other classes or have other studets, a teacher won't teach 5 year old kids the way they teach to teenagers, and also they have to adapt to any class activity, for example, they will be very active and participative in a role-play or a game but they know that they have to be silent and keep on eye on their students when it comes to a test.

4. Their rapport: As explained in the previous entry, the rapport is that magical connection that the teacher has with their students, a bond that can grow stronger over time and a relationship that is only between the teacher and the student. Here are some tips on how the teacher can develop a good report with their students: Recognize them, they feel comforted and special when teachers remember their names and things they like or dislike. Listen to them, as a teacher they have the duty to listen and understand to what their students have to say. Respect them, when giving feedback or simply when talking to them, teachers need to be calm and choose their words wisely, if a teacher gets angry with a student they might get upset and they might lose their motivation. And last but not least, be even-handed, even though in every class there are some students that might participate the most and others tend to be quiet and shy, a teacher has to treat all their students equally and learn to appreciate all of them.

5. Teachers as a teaching aid: Teacher have a ot of knowledge that they must share with their class, however, they can't just talk for over an hour and stand still like a robot. Body language is a very important characteristic of a teacher and also they have to have good intonation and if it is possible, use gestures so they can explain themselves better and for the students to learn in a better way.

6. Native or non-native speaker teachers: Although it is quite unfair, native speaker teachers have always had kind of an advantage over non-native speaker teachers and they have to constantly demonstrate their credibility and prove themselves to other people since the native speaker teacher can be considered superior in a way, however, they both have equally good qualities and have different strengths in what they do: Non-native speaker english teachers have gone through a learning process and it is easier for them to understand their students and show more empathy towards them and they know their needs, they will never judge them. On the other side, native speaker english teachers have cultural knowledge and they are confidentr in their language. Let's say the topic is the Independence of the USA, they are able to share even more information or stories to the class or they can also talk about American holidays like Thanksgiving since they have the experience and they teach from there.

And that is it on describing teachers! I definitely feel like I can understand even more now the role of being a teacher and how much hard work goes into this profession like any other and they should never go unnoticed since they play a very important part in shaping someone else's knowledge. I find it funny how teacher Orlando was telling us on Tuesday's class how some students can get surprised when they encounter their teachers outside of the classroom or the school and I totally agree that they have normal lives and they are human beings just like the rest of us. I have had many many teachers in the past 10 to 15 years, but the ones that I remember the most and have a special place in my heart are all of my English teachers since they taught me everything that I know today and that it has helped me  to be good at my major and I loved their class so so much ever since I was a little girl that I decided to make a living out of the English language so, I had a good time remembering all of my teachers while reading all of the information and what characteristics makes a good teacher. I will definitely remember you, teacher Orlando!💝

Thank you so much for reading this entry and stay tuned for the next one, bye-bye!👋

Here is a picture of teacher Orlando doing what he loves😁