For most students, their biggest takeaway from school is their connection with their teachers. While success cannot be easily measured in the academic world, you must do things differently to have a personal connection with your students and distinguish you from other teachers. Here are ten things that can make you different:
- Provide Real Encouragement
When you know your students are capable of doing more than they’re currently doing, then, it is only necessary to praise them but encourage them to do more. However, don’t praise them just for the sake of it.
2.Be Consistent
Here, consistency is not equivalent to stagnancy. It means:
- you are available for your students when they need you
- you stick to your rules no matter the situation
- you do as you have said
If you’re boasting of consistency, but you still use outdated methods, you’re only masking your stubbornness.
3.Constantly Think of Ways to Improve
You need to take time to reflect on the way you connect with your students. Ensuring that you have passed the Praxis practice tests helps to prevent you from being stuck from outdated methods. It is through reflection that you can uncover your weaknesses and with slight understanding, you can strengthen those areas where required.
4.Seek Help from Mentors
When you have an older and wiser person that can help you when the need arises, you won’t get disheartened easily. Regardless of age or wisdom, no one is immune from having a mentor. Mentors can provide you with another line of thought about yourself.
5.Collaborate with Your Students’ Parents
One factor that’s crucial to your student’s success is the synergy between you and their parents. There should be quick and easy communication with the parents to address any issues about their children (your students). The chances of your students will underperform can be reduced significantly once you and their parents have a common goal about the child.
6.Be Passionate About Your Work
One trait that shows you love your work is that you can transmit your excitement about your work to other teachers and you can bring life to the most boring subjects. This trait will reflect when you teach. But if you don’t love what you do, the reverse will also be true.
While there will be times you will not be motivated or inspired, you need to find the reason for this. Then, make the needed changes. There are times your lack of inspiration and motivation might have to do with your expectations rather than the subject you teach. But by making slight adjustments to your expectations, you can find your love for teaching.
7.Change Your Plans to Accommodate Your Students
You might have to make changes to your plans or schedule for the day based on the attendance roster and any other issue that may arise. Since classrooms continue to evolve dynamically, you need to adapt your methods. Your goal is not just to complete a curriculum; it is to connect with your student and improve them. Hence, this may involve changing your methods.
8.Explore Fresh Resources and Tools
You can add more functionality to your curriculum and classroom by using technology. While you’re yet to use some technologies, it is highly likely that your students have used them.
Your students continue to grow with technology, and new ones are continually being made available to them. Thus, why not start using technology in the classroom.
9.Be Comfortable with Teaching Subjects with A Lot of Unknowns
It is difficult enough that you’re not certain of any support from your students’ parents or that the future of your classroom budget is unknown. But it even becomes more difficult having to teach subjects with lots of unknowns. However, being able to make the best use of uncomfortable situations is another hallmark that distinguishes great teachers.
10.Allow Some ‘Fun’ Days
Not all days should be for serious work; there are days you should allow your students to buy gifts for teachers and generally have fun with your students. This ‘fun’ day can become the framework for trust and respect because your students can feel and see the human element in you. Also, you can make the most mundane topic more interesting by injecting humor into it.
You just learned ten things you can do to make you a great teacher. And now there’s just one thing left for you to do: ACT.