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A good English teacher is first of all, a person with excellent character. This person presents a burning passion for teaching and cares deeply about the details of his or her job, but even more importantly, truly cares about his or her students. They need to have knowledge of the subject being taught and need to be a relational person, in other words, a relational leader. Character is composed of many facets, but in a nutshell, it shows who the person really is in their personal life. Character involves good time management, such as being able to arrive for class early to make sure that everything is working and ready to go and also to be able to finish class with sufficient time to clean up and organize for the next class. Therefore, organization is crucial for this type of work. Another indication of someone who has a good character, is that this person practices what he or she preaches, they are consistent with what they are teaching. They are not only acting during class, but they keep their promises and the standards that they set for their students in their own personal life. These are mostly related to respect and honor. Another important portion of character is being emotionally stable. One of the worst things that can happen is for the students not to ever know what to expect as far as their teacher’s mood. A good teacher will bring an excited and cheerful atmosphere to the class. It is valid to note that this is even more important if the class is composed of children. Children need a good, safe environment to be able to relax and express themselves, and be able to learn and be looking forward to the next class. Children are like sponges and they will absorb your energy whether it is good or bad. For a teacher to be great, there has to be love and passion for teaching, and the students will pick up on this. Someone who has passion for this type of business, will make all efforts to be entertaining to their public, as no teacher wants to have their students sleeping or bored during class. No teacher wants for their students to have to be dragged to class by their parents. They need to keep the students’ interest, according to the students whom they are teaching. Which brings us to another characteristic of a good teacher: they need to be flexible. We might have many different things prepared to do for a class, but if something is not working, we need to be flexible to adapt a little here and there, not being rigid and trying to force something that is obviously not working. Students are all different and sometimes it takes using different approaches than the one we originally planned. If the teacher is organized and had his/her lesson planned, he/she will be able to keep his/her eyes on the objectives of the lesson, even if things have to be done slightly different than originally planned. Discipline is part of growth and it is something that will be required from teacher and student in order for learning to happen more effectively. Our bodies are not naturally disciplined and need help in this area, therefore the teacher needs to be able to help the students and keep them motivated to do their homework and to study as well as to participate during class, whether they feel like it or not. By relating well to the students, a teacher is someone who leads them into becoming better in the needed areas of their life. A good teacher will know how to involve different students with the class content and get them to participate. Another very important quality of a good teacher is to be able to correct students in a loving manner, carefully not to offend the student or kill their motivation. Since every student is different, some might take correction better than others, some might be ok and thankful for it, but some might be very sensitive when corrected. So, knowing well each student and their strengths and weaknesses will be a great help. In conclusion, we can say that a good teacher is someone who acts out of love towards their students, not avoiding correction, but demonstrating excellence and consistency in everything that they do. A person of character, who has passion for teaching, makes up for a great teacher. Someone who is motivated to continue to seek new ways of improving their teaching and personal skills.
