Qualities of Great Teachers
Posted by sunnywilliams on February 11, 2007
High quality teachers are very important in your school experience and to HTMS becoming a GREAT school. By the time you enter middle school, you have had multiple teachers who were all different from each other. I am already starting to get applications and phone calls from teachers interested in teaching at HTMS. As I interview teachers for next school year, what qualities do you think I should look for?
February 12th, 2007 at 2:57 pm
I think when you are interveiwing teachers you should look for someone that is kind and layed back. I think they should like to do interactive activities that relate to what they are teaching.
February 14th, 2007 at 12:52 pm
I appreciate the fact that you are seeking our input. I would love to see teachers who very much want to cover all the materials in the book but that are also able to do so while reaching the students through interactive interesting opportunities instead of the regular write, read and memorize strategies of the past. In other words, teachers who want to make learning a pleasant experiece and that the student feels satisfaction thus wanting to achieve even more. You have a few teachers that are this way already. I salute you.
February 15th, 2007 at 10:43 am
I think that the teachers need to be able to make learning fun. They need to also be funny because that makes the kids more interested in what they are learning. The teachers also need to be friendly. If the teacher is mean and doesn’t love what she is doing then the kids will hate going to her class andno one will learn anything because they are just waitin for the class to end. The teacher also dosn’t need to be that old. If they are old then they will most likley not know how to use all the new technology. The teachers need to be the best there is.
February 15th, 2007 at 10:44 am
I think you should look for teachers that will make class fun and interesting. And for teachers that are nice.
February 15th, 2007 at 3:00 pm
I think some good qualities in a teacher would be someone that is really outgoing. Someone that can teach you a lot, but who can still be funny at the same time. (Someone like Mrs. Dobbs)
February 16th, 2007 at 1:42 pm
I think that you should lood for teachers that know what they’re talking about and can really teach. They also need a great personality that will keep the kids interested in class and make them want to do their best. When you don’t like a teacher it is harder to concentrate in class because you are focused on your dislike of the teacher and not focused on actually learning. fun teachers make school enjoyable.
February 16th, 2007 at 10:45 pm
Well, I like the characteristics listed so far! As another principal I also want someone who is willing to spend time with students after school, who have a background in the area they are teaching, who are willing to try new things and aren’t afraid of learning themselves and who are confident but not cocky! I want to know what they do outside of school, what they do on weekends, where they like to travel, what they like to read and to do as hobbies. I want to know what they think about constructivist learning, project-based learning and their ideas about parental contacts and community interactions.
That is a good start, especially when you add all those great ideas from above. You should be able to get some very good teachers!
February 20th, 2007 at 9:23 am
A good teacher gives no homework and has a good personality. That is funny with the students.
February 20th, 2007 at 9:25 am
I think that you should look for teachers that have some experiance. They also need to be good with students and know what they are doing. Teachers also need to be fun, even though your at school to learn. They just dont need to be to boring.
February 20th, 2007 at 9:26 am
The teachers are okay, but your never going to like your teachers all the way.I do wish some were more confurting.They talk to you like your a real person instead of some stupid teenager that could care less than to be at shcool.
February 20th, 2007 at 9:27 am
Since our school is so awesome, we need an awesome teacher. Someone young so they would be able to stay at the school for a long time, and someone who uses interactive activities to help keep students interested in what they are doing in the class.
February 20th, 2007 at 9:31 am
When you are interviewing teachers, I think you should choose someone that is laid back and isnt anyone your not sure about. Someone who understands kids and kids arent afraid to come to them when they need something or just need to talk. Also, someone who is funny and is easy to get along with. Finding someone who can teach really well and can make it fun at the same time is probably one of the best things you need to be looking for.
February 20th, 2007 at 9:31 am
A teacher needs to be an outgoing and understanding person. I think that a good teacher is a teacher that wants to teacher and wants to here what the students have to say.
February 20th, 2007 at 9:32 am
I think you should look for teachers that have some teaching experiance and know what they are teaching. I think you should also look for a teacher who is nice and does a lot of activities that will help students understand the subject.
February 20th, 2007 at 9:37 am
I think maybe while you interview them, you might want them to give a little deminstration. This way you can find out if students are going to learn from it or if you think the students might struggle with it. You might have better grades in students this way! Not only this the students will willingly want to learn.
February 20th, 2007 at 10:20 am
I think that the Characteristics of a teacher that you should look for is Someone thats in the younnger years.They seem to understand us more.
February 20th, 2007 at 10:22 am
I think the teachers should make learning fun. Some teachers always make learning fun but most of them do not.
February 20th, 2007 at 10:23 am
I love a teacher who cares about who their students are as individuals; someone who really wants to get to know everybody and not just that select few who interest them.
February 20th, 2007 at 10:28 am
Teachers should make the classroom fun. I shouldn’t want to fall asleep in the teacher’s class. I am not a really hard person to entertain ether. So make sher the teacher has a little flair to his or her teaching.
-alex-
February 20th, 2007 at 10:30 am
I think a teacher should make learning fun. They should have activities that would keep us interested in what we are learning. They should be patient and laid back.
February 20th, 2007 at 10:31 am
Hey Dr. Williams! To me, a good teacher has to be brave and confident. Confident teachers come in comfortably and are not afraid of their students. Teachers that are not confident in themselves think they have to MAKE their students learn. MAKING students learn makes students think they have to MAKE the teachers respect them. Although teachers deffinatly need to have authority in the classroom, I do not think they should feel as if they are the only person in the class to voice an opinion. I think that students should have some voice in the classroom too.
Love, Lydia Clements
February 20th, 2007 at 11:13 am
Well, I like the teacher that like to do alot of fun thing and experiments. I also enjoy the teachers that is very inthusiastick. Also i like teacher that are really funny
February 20th, 2007 at 11:15 am
I think you should looke for teachers who are fun and interesting. Kids would be more enthused to learn if they had fun doing it.
February 20th, 2007 at 11:16 am
I think you should look for teachers who are fun and interesting. Kids would be more enthused to learn if they had fun doing it.
February 20th, 2007 at 11:18 am
I think that a teacher should be kind to the students,and do fun projects in the class. They should do something that keeps the students awake,and make the students laugh.
February 20th, 2007 at 11:18 am
what kind of teacher that i would be looking for? Is someone that love to teacher is ready to help each student no matter what it might be. A teacher that belive in all her student get to know each one of them to understand the strong and weak abilty that they have and what she can do to make it a better places for them. Not just to be a teacher but a friend to make sure when they leave at then end of the year that someone is always there to help them when they need help them.Even when they think that nobody is there.Not just that some one is there to keep pushing them even when they wanted to give up .that what i think that a teacher should have.
February 20th, 2007 at 11:23 am
I think that there should be more teachers like Mr. Jones his class is never too challenging and he never gives to much homework and you all ways do something intresting at the end of the week. He makes learning fun!!!
February 20th, 2007 at 11:24 am
They should be able to connect to what we have a great interest in and they should make us want to join in on the conversation, otherwise we will just want to get out of there. They should also be younger teachers so they can relate to us more because they can remember what it’s like to be in are shoes. They also should be funny because that way they can keep our attention. Also they should really get to know us and what really like not just what were like in school they need to be more of are friend because I think we listen to our friends more than we would are teacher. They should also have to be able to doing something to not bore the class to death such as like be funny and they should also get more exciting and they should not give us homework because we learn better if we do the work with the teacher than by areself.
February 20th, 2007 at 11:25 am
I think that when you are interviewing teachers you should look for the things that you think will catch our attention. Like in class will the teacher be doing things that will interest us and also would make us want to know more or understand more about the learning experience.
February 20th, 2007 at 11:48 am
Dr. Williams,
I think that you should teachers who are caring, and they are willing to spend time with students,and also want to teach in a great way for students to learn.
Pareasa
February 20th, 2007 at 1:00 pm
When you’re looking for new teachers, they need to know what they’re teaching, and be able to teach it in a fun way. It gets boring just sitting in a desk listening to a teacher lecture you every day. I learn better by hands on activities because it keeps my attention. So, the teachers need to be able to help us understand the material while keeping our attention.
February 20th, 2007 at 1:01 pm
I like The Teachers that dont give homework!
February 20th, 2007 at 1:03 pm
I think you should look for being able to connect with their students, and having a fun loving attitude about teaching. They should also be calm, and not get too mad at students.
February 20th, 2007 at 1:04 pm
I thnikt hat you should look for a teacher that is someone that is patient and can work well will teen’s. Also someone how enjoys what they are doing. If they dont enjoy they’r job then how are we going to enjoy ours? also someone who is fun and have a good time (but still be down to earth and points) When they do labs and fun activeties for us to do it it is much more fun then jsut takeing notes we have hands on. and that makes it better to learn in my case. Just make sure that they are a good teacher and can have a good time with the kids.
February 20th, 2007 at 1:05 pm
I think that good characteristicts of being a good teacher is someone who will listen to what i have to say. And that will also make it fun and intresting. And someone who will have discussions instead of bookwork.
February 20th, 2007 at 1:07 pm
I think you should try to look for someone who is great with kids and/or young adult. Also someone who is very fun and has fun activites for her class.
February 20th, 2007 at 1:07 pm
I think when you are hiring teachers you should try to look for someone young and with a fun entergetic personality. You should try to find somone who will care about their students and try to become friends with them. I think that if teachers are like friends to their students then people would like the class better, and if they liked the class they would probaly make better grades.
February 20th, 2007 at 1:23 pm
I think that you should look for, how many years of college the person has, if they have a great personality, and if you think that they will work good with kids. You should also look for if they like the subject they will be teaching.
♥
Katelyn Booker
February 20th, 2007 at 1:24 pm
I think that you should look for teachers that really know how to teach, and know what they are talking about, but also can make class fun, and keep us interested in what we are learning about.
February 20th, 2007 at 2:34 pm
I think that there should be alot more male teachers.We have alot of girl teachers and not so many guy teachers.Guys can relate so i think that male students will learn more from male teachers.
February 20th, 2007 at 2:37 pm
The teachers they choose should make class fun but be able to teach what they need becaues you wouldnt want a teacher that puts kids to sleep, or a teacher that is just always screaming at people. We students whant teachers that are strick but that can be nice sometimes. And we also like teachers that talk about fun stuff not just bookwork.
February 20th, 2007 at 2:38 pm
The teachers at our school are pretty good to me. Mainly i like the way that most of them are always willing to take time out of their busy lives and help us. Sometimes we might not always like our teachers when they are mad at us but they are just telling us for our own good so we will know not to make mistakes later.
February 20th, 2007 at 2:39 pm
I think the teacher should be nice and caring, gets along with students, and do fun activities about the subject they are teaching, this way the make the class more interesting.I also think they need to have good teaching skills, and really be passionate about their work.
February 20th, 2007 at 2:43 pm
I think that a great teacher is one that knows how to have fun and teach at the same time. A teacher that stands up there and talks the whole time is not so great. The teachers don’t listen therefore we as students don’t get a clue what to do for homework.
February 20th, 2007 at 2:44 pm
I think that you need a teacher who will be an example to the students. You need a teacher who will be fun and enthuastic so therefore the students will be more intersted in learning.
February 20th, 2007 at 2:44 pm
I think that you should look for a teacher that teaches well.The teacher should be able to explain what he/she is teaching so that everyone will be able to understand and learn more.The teacher should be good with children and be able to tollerate annoyance.Thats what kind of teacher you need to look for.
February 20th, 2007 at 3:18 pm
You should look for someone who likes to enteract with kids .
February 20th, 2007 at 3:19 pm
I think that you should try to find a teacher that will use different ways to help us learn. Like demonstrations and fun activities that we would enjoy while at the same time learning.
February 20th, 2007 at 3:19 pm
I think that you should look for teachers who you can tell that they really care about the students and their problems.Also I think that we should be able to trust them and be able to tell them if there is a problem. Finally I think that they should be highly educated in what they are teaching.
February 20th, 2007 at 3:20 pm
I think you should find a teacher who is very outgoing. If the teacher is outgoing, then the students have more fun in the class. When there is a boring teacher then most kids dont really pay attention, they are just worried about the bell ringing so they can leave. I like teachers who are very funny and love to have fun in class but also teaches very well. I think all students would love it if we had more teachers like that.
February 20th, 2007 at 3:21 pm
I think you need to look for exciting teachers. We have a lot of great teachers here, but some of them seem like they are not interested in teaching that subject or they don’t like kids. Most of us will never like our teachers all the way, but we need to be able to enjoy our classes. I think sometimes why we fail or fall asleep in class is because nothing is exciting anymore. Also we do not need teachers that are just all about fun and don’t get us ready for highschool or the grade ahead of us.
February 20th, 2007 at 3:22 pm
I think that teachers need a good personality. They should also give no homework or very little. I would also like to have a teacher that can keep me awake.
February 20th, 2007 at 3:23 pm
Good teachers are teachers that are nice and don’t give homework because homework isn’t practice it’s just something to waste time and our life. So if there is a Teacher that gives no homework then it is the best teacher.
February 20th, 2007 at 3:24 pm
I think that you should pick a teacher with a great personality. They need to know how to have fun but not too much. If they don’t have some guidelines then we won’t learn anything. I think teachers that are too strict can hinder out learning also. You can learn while having fun.
February 20th, 2007 at 3:25 pm
I think teachers should be outgoing and open minded about things, especially if you are going to be a middle teacher. The teacher should set good examples and be easy to talk to. Also, they need to patient and willing to take their time with us if we need help. They need to have a good since of humor and be easy to talk to. They need to know what they are talking about and know enough about the subject they are teaching.
February 20th, 2007 at 3:31 pm
I think teachers need to be very active and fun and not make me want to hurry up and get out of their class. Teachers should be young and understand what we are going throught and not give us homework on like a sports game night or if there is a big event that night.
February 20th, 2007 at 3:32 pm
I think that you need to look for a person that gets along with the students, and someone who has a great personality, and who is funny. Someone who is not boring and dull. And someone who is strict, but also fun. Also someone who takes into consideration that we have extra ciricular activities and not give alot of homework because we also have other classes that give homework.
February 27th, 2007 at 3:42 pm
I think you should look for someone who has a heart and someone who teaches in a very unusual but fun way! Someone like Mrs. Speaker, she has a heart and teaches in a fun and quite weird way. She also cares about all of her students. If you are in need of help, she will help you. You should hire someone that does not care where the student lives or how smart they are but someone who tries to teach the student great things and valuable lessons in life. Also I do not think you should choose anyone who is not jind and who just wants money…. Someone who cares about her/his students and take pride in their job. they should be outgoing and open-minded. They definately need to know what thy are saying and they should be very patient. They also should have to understand that middle school is probably the hardest year especially to six graders, and I think every student in the school agree with me, so teachers would have to be VERY PATIENT!!!!
they should all be like Mrs. Speaker, open minded has their life situated, and they care and understands their students!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
~Darby~
February 27th, 2007 at 4:39 pm
when you are looking at the qualities in a teacher, you should look for a teacher that is interesting. A teacher should have a great personality and a way to make school more fun. All students should love school as much as the teacher! That is what you should lok for ina teacher.
March 16th, 2007 at 8:26 am
I think a teacher should be nice and funny with the students. Dosen’t give any homework.
March 16th, 2007 at 8:28 am
I think you need a teacher that can get along with and talk to. You also need a teacher that can be funny and can be serious when the time comes.
March 16th, 2007 at 9:29 am
When you are looking for teachers I think you should get teachers that are caring and fun. A teacher should be able to handle the pressure of all the students.They also should make learning fun and interesting. It is important to have good teachers.
Allison
March 16th, 2007 at 10:37 am
I like the teachers who won’t give alot of homework and that will joke around with the students. I also like the teachers who are nice and will let us play games during class. I also like someone that won’t yell at the students when they mess up and won’t the live by the pinkslips.
March 16th, 2007 at 10:38 am
I like the teachers who won’t give alot of homework and that will joke around with the students. I also like the teachers who are nice and will let us play games during class. I also like someone that won’t yell at the students when they mess up and won’t the live by the pinkslips.
March 16th, 2007 at 10:48 am
I think a good teacher should always be willing to have a friendly relationship with all of their students. That way, the kids would not be afraid to do their best and ask questions. When kids have a teacher who is mean and not very friendly, that makes the student less likely to have respect and concern of the teacher. It is very important that the teachers build a good relationship with the student as well as the people around them and the principal also.
March 16th, 2007 at 11:30 am
I think that Hewitt should be hiring teachers that will teach students as much as they can and to the highest standard. When I am at school I want to learn as much as I possibly can. If I have a teacher who is lowering the standards where everyone makes good grades and all the students are making the same grade just because they think we should all succeed. We all might succeed, but what if we are not fully educated to what we could be? Then we are not goin to be ready for college. Also, we will have to take extra classes to learn what we are suppose to already know but do not because the standards were lowered! In conclusion I believe the teachers that we should be hiring are the teachers who have had experience and will give everything in their power to teach the students at Hewitt as much as they can.
March 16th, 2007 at 12:14 pm
When looking for new teachers, I think you need to find someone who’s enthusiastic and really cares for the kids. When we have a teacher that we can just talk to and have fun with, it makes us want to learn more.
March 16th, 2007 at 12:56 pm
Looking in a teacher is one that does not get frusterated easily, and is willing to go over something even if we forget. (we are just kids and we do forget!!!!) Makes the kids feel welcome to come up and ask questions, so if we don’t get a lesson, we wont make a bad grade. This is a great way to get students grades to raise. Ecspecially if they are shy, but failing!
–Natalie
March 16th, 2007 at 12:59 pm
I think that teachers should be laid back and comfortable with themselves and with children. Also, they should definitely make learning fun. Most teachers will just give us lectures and make us take notes from it or just teach straight out of the text book. I’ll be honest, when teachers teach like that all we do is memorize the material for the test and then forget it. We don’t really learn it. Teachers should be able to apply what we’re learning to everyday life and make it interesting and real.
March 16th, 2007 at 1:02 pm
When you are hiring for new teachers look for someone that doesn’t get frustrated easily. I think that because we are just kids and we make plenty of mistakes. Also I would want someone that would make jokes just to make class a bit more interesting like Mrs.Haynes!!! Our teachers should be easy to come up to talk to with out getting nervous to say what you want to say.
( like a question or something)
March 18th, 2007 at 9:02 am
I think that when looking for new teachers, experience should be a key factor. I have had many teachers that were fresh out of college, and sure they were fun, but it was a wasted year because they weren’t as prepared as they will be in the upcoming years. I also think that we should be looking for teachers who will actually teach. Personally, I am tired of teachers who lecture and make us take notes without letting us discuss. It becomes boring and you don’t actually learn. I am also not pleased with how teachers throw out projects all the time and don’t actually teach themselves. I don’t want any teachers who will dumb down the classroom so everyone can succeed. I understand that is the philosophy with many new educators, but i disagree. I think that you should be rewarded for doing well and everyone shouldn’t make good grades so everyone can suceed. I want to actually learn if i am going to be at school 5 days a week and not have the standards lowered to where everything is easy. That is unrealistic and an unsatisfactory characteristic in an educator’s beliefs.
March 30th, 2007 at 12:20 pm
I think that whoever you hire needs to like the subject that they are teaching. They need to know what they are teaching too. They need to have patience for kids who misbehave. They also need to be kind and considerate. They need to be able to answer all the questions that students ask that relate to the subject. They also need to be capable of spelling their own vocabulary words and they don’t need to make a lot of grammar mistakes.
April 9th, 2007 at 8:08 pm
What I look for in a teacher is fun, outspoken, and can understand the students if even a little bit.
April 13th, 2007 at 2:55 pm
Dr. Williams,
This school is so wonderful and the teachers are amazing! I recently transferred here and my teachers made coming to a school easy and pain free. Especially Mrs. Wood and Mrs. Hamby they are wonderful. I think that you should look for teachers that are very organized, strict but not un-friendly, know how to keep a class room under control and can keep calm in any situations. I know that these are basics but they are highly important when it comes to teachers.