Everyone has a favourite teacher from school, someone they remember with real fondness. It could be someone funny or inspiring, or someone that made them look at something in a new light. At any rate, some teachers are popular and some just aren't. My favourite teacher was called Dr Wolfe — he told great rambling stories, his lessons never felt like work and he knew just what to say when he found me crying in a corridor once. I don't remember what I was upset about, but I do remember him having huge empathy.
As a trainee, I think we all aspire to be one of those teachers. At the very least we want to be a teacher that students don't hate or remember for the wrong reasons. But, the thing is, being popular is not really what we're here to do, and it can take years to master. As far as I can see we're here to put information into young people's heads and, if we can, to help them become balanced young adults that can function in society. Facilitating the acquiring of knowledge is the most important thing to concentrate on as a trainee.
As part of my training I get to observe lots of teachers — this is great as I see lots of different teaching styles and pick up lots of tips to use on my own classes along the way. It also means I see some things I want to avoid. One teacher has a particularly rowdy, badly behaved class. I really don't think it's the entirely the pupils' fault. The teacher concerned seems to go to great efforts to be mates with the class. They are always trying to crack jokes and have a laugh with students to get them on side and behave. The trouble is the jokes aren't funny and the teacher isn't cool and the result is very little consistency or discipline control and a class that has no respect for their teacher.
I do not have nearly enough experience to be able to say what makes a good teacher, let alone know what makes a teacher that pupils love, but I have had the privilege of seeing a few brilliant teachers while training and they all share a few attributes. They never shout at an individual or class. Instead they use clear reasoning, talking to all students like adults setting out clear boundaries and consequences of crossing them. They are very firm when a student steps out of line and because the boundaries are so clear the students seem to respect sanctions when they are imposed. The teachers also give a little of themselves; by this I mean use stories or anecdotes from their own experiences to make points or bring things to life. And, lastly, they have a relaxed body language and move about the classroom rarely staying behind a desk. Much of this centres on creating a mutually respectful environment which makes behaviour control more achievable.
Being a teacher that students like seems to require a delicate balance and is definitely not one that I have achieved yet. It also seems to take a long time, years in fact. I'm not too worried about it though, I am still working out what kind of a teacher I am. What I do really care about is that students achieve their learning objectives in a safe and respectful environment. For that, being firm, calm and consistent seems to be the key in order to establish behaviour control — not trying to be popular.
