What Makes A Great Teacher?

I've been thinking about this for some time now. We are in an era of standardization and evaluation. Teacher effectiveness is in the news every day. Do good test scores make a great teacher? Do classrooms that are showpieces make a great teacher? Do credentials from well respected universities make a great teacher? Do awards make a great teacher? No. No. No. No.

I have been teaching many years. I have had the good fortune to teach in several different schools and in two different states. So although my thoughts here are not based upon any empirical research they are based upon some experience. So...what does make a great teacher?

When I started teaching, there was a great lady who taught next door to me, Mrs. H. She did not have lots of exciting displays up in her room. I feel sure she never taught her students any non-verbal signals. She did not have one high tech piece of equipment in her room and I'm fairly certain her desks were always in rows. But somehow she managed to take 25 students every year and take them to great academic heights. How? She had high expectations for both herself and her students and she expressed these expectations to her students. She was a person of integrity. She was the same person with students that she was with her peers. She had one motivation for all she did....student learning. My only regret is that I was too young and inexperienced at the time to realize what a fantastic role model she was! She was a great teacher.

Do I think teachers should be appropriately concerned about test scores? Yes. Should teachers learn about and utilize the lastest technology? Yes. Should teachers make sure their rooms are attractive and conducive to learning? Yes, of course. Should teachers be continual learners? Definitely. But the motivation behind it all must be the students.

Being a great teacher is not about technology, test scores, or the latest educational fad. Being a great teacher is as much about who we are as it is about what we do. The truly great teachers have but one motivation...student success.