If you happen to be a teacher then you must know how satisfying a job it can be. Let us take a closer look at how you can get better at teaching.
Nobody is born perfect and nor are they automatically just good at doing a job. This is especially true for teachers as they have to deal with multiple students with multiple personalities and therefore they can never be the “perfect” teacher for all students, no matter how hard they try. We are all different and your students are absolutely no different at all. They have their own unique personalities and they all have different needs from their teachers when it comes to the actual job of learning. When the teaching style that you personally have fits in with a student, then you are more or less guaranteed to become his/her favorite teacher. This is what it is like to be on the same wavelength as someone else and the students really appreciate it when they are on the same wavelength as their teachers. It is also obvious that not all of your students will have the same requirements from you and you will most definitely not be the favorite teacher of all your students. It just does not work like that.
What you can do, however, (and it is something that is completely within your control) is you can try and get better at it and you should make the effort just for your students sake. The main thing that all teachers should always maintain is to make sure that they are listening to their students properly. Below we have compiled a list of things that you can do right now in order to become a better teacher and these suggestions are coming straight from the horse’s mouth, the students. It can be really helpful for your career if you take heed of the following suggestions and it will also allow you to build better relationships with your students.
However, if you are thinking about what else you can do with the same qualifications as a teacher, don’t forget to check out Suzanne Klein’s Blog.
Make sure you are assertive
Just like anybody else, your students can also have problems, they are also humans. They can have bad days, be going through stress or they may even be going through a depressive project. If you notice that some students are underperforming, or they just do not seem motivated to truly thrive, do not just get angry at them and argue with them. Do not ever tell them that they have become lazy or that, even worse, that they are stupid or something of that sort.
Ideally you should be someone who is like a parent to your students. Support the students who are at your disposal and make sure that they understand that you are invested in their success. If you think that something is going wrong with them, make sure that you meet with him/her after classes are over and try to find out what exactly it is that is wrong with them.
Be their friend but don’t go overboard
Students simply do not like it when their teachers themselves start behaving like a student. Make sure that you stay professional; you should help your students with schoolwork, make sure to listen to them and to also talk to them about their lives and while all of this is good and dandy, make sure that your students remember that you are their teacher and not the other way around. Even if you happen to be a particularly young teacher, make sure that you still stay professional with your students or else they will very likely take advantage of you. If you become overly friendly, all that will end up happening is that your students will not take you seriously and you will lose your authority in the classroom.
Make the lessons relevant
One of the best ways to make sure that your students are engaged in the classroom is to make sure that the lessons that you are providing them are also things that are relevant in their life. When you design the lessons in such a way that the information contained in the lessons are relevant to the lives of your students, then not only will they be more engaged in the whole learning process but they will also be able to retain the information much more effectively and efficiently.
Use Your Time Wisely
Always make sure that you remember who you are and exactly where you are. Students are generally not that interested in knowing the boring details of their teacher’s lives that they really could do without. They do not want to hear about your student life, how things were better before, etc. Your students are there only for one reason, to attend class and to learn, that is the goal of going to schools. Do not waste your time and also do not waste their time. Make sure that your students don’t skip classes because of you and how you waste their time. Students really appreciate it when their teachers do not waste their time.
Teaching is one of the most rewarding jobs that one can engage themselves in. What teachers do can basically be termed as being the job of nation building. They are shaping the future of the people who are going to be leading the world in the very near future and it has to be mentioned that this is a massive responsibility. Therefore, in order to perform this honorable task diligently, teachers must always be engaged in trying to make themselves better at their job. It really is a job requirement for teachers.