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The 10 Commonalities of Great Teachers
By J. William Towne
Author of Conversations with America’s Best Teachers (Inkster Publishing, 2009)
While interviewing some of the best teachers in the country, I was surprised to see certain commonalities or themes pop up time and time again. Though these teachers taught a variety of different subjects in various K-12 grades, as I continued interviewing them, I started seeing commonalities and patterns develop. I began making a list of the ones that appeared most. Could there be specific methods and attributes that, if combined, would essentially create the perfect teacher? Probably not, I thought. But variations of the same ten methods continued to appear in nearly all of the interviews, whether the teacher taught in a major metropolitan city or a small rural town. These common methods were prevalent if the teachers taught kindergarten or high school, math, social studies, gifted students or special education. Most had never spoken to one another, nor did they have much in common in their personal lives, yet the same ten commonalities emerged time and again. It was so obvious, in fact, that I will go out on the limb and say that any teacher who incorporates these methods will, at the very least, become a better teacher. You will probably become your students’ favorite teacher, and once you’ve mastered these skills you will indeed become a great teacher. Here are the ten commonalities:
1. Solicit Student Input
Great teachers get their students involved. They solicit student input on things such as planning, implementing, and evaluating assignments. If your students have a hand in the decision-making process, they are much more likely to perform well.
2. Build Individual Relationships
Great teachers know each of their students by name, know what each of their students like and don’t like, and their fears and dreams. They see and treat each student as an individual and build on each relationship throughout the year.
3. Focus on the Whole Child
Great teachers don’t just focus on test scores, they focus on whole child learning. While the academic side is important, don’t forget there’s more to child development than just academics, regardless of what the curriculum states.
Great teachers always find ways to make the lesson at hand fun. It doesn’t matter if it’s biology, calculus, or English literature. Be creative! Incorporate things like music, art, food, games, and humor into the lesson and do it in a way that’s relevant to your students’ lives.
5. Use Hands-On Lessons
Great teachers use hands-on lessons and projects to reach multiple learning abilities and do very little formal lecturing. Lecture is boring and all but dead. Find ways to liven it up again by getting your students out of their seats and physically involved.
6. Build Teams
Great teachers actively build effective teams with other teachers, administrators, and parents. “No man is an island” is an old saying that fits teachers too. You’re surrounded by experts. Even if you can’t get parental involvement, compensate for it by involving respected community members and experienced co-workers.
Great teachers know that technology is a resource that cannot be ignored. They incorporate it as a tool to enhance their teaching in various ways. Use it with the students to make lessons fun, create digital newsletters for parents, and even electronic grade books for yourself.
8. Take Risks
Great teachers often take risks, actively going against the norm to develop new models and programs. They do not respect the status quo when a program is not working. Don’t sit around waiting for it to improve, take the initiative and change it yourself.
9. Write Grants
Great teachers write grants and solicit sponsors to help overcome the lack of district and state funding. They do not use a lack of money as an excuse to teach poorly. Grant-writing is a skill that every teacher should learn to master.
Great teachers are never satisfied with where they are professionally and always strive to improve. They have mastered their subject matter, yet always continue their professional development. Many great teachers have advance degrees and/or are continually learning to better their craft. Every teacher should consider becoming Board Certified by the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards– the gold standard of teaching.
While these ten commonalities provide a framework of what to do to become great, you will have to develop your own specific methods within it. This provides an enormous amount of latitude and creative opportunity for teachers. A classroom should be fun and enjoyable for the teacher and the students. The more interesting you make it, the more your students will want to learn what you have to teach. Teachers are the most important aspect of education reform. Great teachers find ways of overcoming every obstacle to classroom success, and let no flawed legislation, shortsighted assessment test, or close-minded administrator stand in their way.
