Chapter 6: What Makes a Teacher Effective? by Ivie Williamson

The Attitude of the Effective Teacher

There are four categories of attitude that affect teaching. They are a teacher's attitude toward his or herself, their attitude toward the children, their attitude toward their peers and their students' parents, and their attitude toward the subject matter. Along with having positive attitudes in these categories, it has been found that teachers who possess warmth, empathy, sensitivity, enthusiasm, and humor in their personalities are much more effective than those who don't.

First, teachers need to know and understand themselves before they can know and understand their students. They need to realize their strengths and weaknesses and be flexible in their methods of teaching.

Second, in order to treat students fairly, teachers need to treat each one differently. This might seem contradictory at first, but think about it. Each child is different and each one has needs unique to them. Each one learns differently, each one comes from different racial and ethnic backgrounds as well as different types of families.

Elliot W. Eisner said, "If teachers pretend not to see students' racial and ethnic differences, they really do not see the students at all and are limited in their ability to meet their educational needs."

Teachers need to believe that every student can learn and achieve academically. The key and challenge are finding and filling these needs. If all children came from the same dough and were cut by the same cookie cutter, it would be easy to teach them all by a certain set of guidelines to meet all the standards. But they don't. Just as different types of cookies need to be formed and baked at different temperatures, children must be taught using different strategies in order for them to learn and be successful.

Third, teachers need to cooperate and share ideas with each other in order to benefit the staff and the students. When teachers work with those in authority, they will be able to more easily overcome anxieties and avoid situations that cause anger. Teachers ought to value and be sincere with other teachers and parents, showing empathy as well as having realistic expectations.



Finally, teachers should have enthusiasm for their subject matter. After all, if a teacher isn't excited about a subject, why on earth should a student be?