How a teacher affects a student's life
E.Q: Distinguish how an early childhood teacher can positively impact a student's life
What is the difference between a highly effective teacher and a highly qualified teacher?
What impacts students the most: nurturing or academics?
For children learning and growing academically, they need support and positive guidance from their teacher. While both nurturing and academics are important, nurturing is the most significant. To be effective in teaching students, a teacher needs to encourage them to strive to do the best they can, and give them high goals that are able to be accomplished. If a student has difficulty understanding material, it is crucial to give positive criticism, not tearing him/ her down.
"This is the value of the teacher, who looks at a face and says there's something behind that and I want to reach that person, I want to influence that person, I want to encourage that person, I want to enrich, I want to call out that person who is behind that face, behind that color, behind that language, behind that tradition, behind that culture. I believe you can do it. I know what was done for me”- Maya Angelou
Being a qualified teacher requires having a high certification or degree for teaching. Being an effective teacher, on the other hand, is much more than that. While the certifications are needed, nurturing and acknowledging the students are the real necessity. A teacher should look at their students as human beings rather than just a number. Being effective also means to envision goals for the students, rather than just giving assignment after assignment, not attempting to contribute to improvement for students who may need it. An effective teacher goes the extra mile.
What are the qualities of an effective teacher?
To be an effective teacher, several qualities are necessary. An effective teacher is best described as being a positive reinforcement, prepared for any situation to the best of their ability, and organized. Organization is very important, so you can teach everything needed to be taught without running out of time and cramming information into the brains of the students right before the end of the year. Being clear and patient are also key concepts to be effective. When teaching, especially at a young age, it is sometimes hard to grasp the fact that your students don't have the prior knowledge of the material that we believe should be common sense, such as simple addition or reading. It's difficult for students to understand this right away, which is why it's necessary to be clear, speaking complex thoughts in a simple way, and to show patience.
What is the most impactful quality of an effective teacher?
The most impactful quality of an effective teacher would be positivity. Being a positive reinforcement in the class can increase a students self-esteem, promote general happiness, and can encourage the student to strive to their absolute best. When a child does well, it is best to reward them and encourage them verbally. As discussed in the question about nurturing vs. academics, encouraging a student to get up and try again when they get a question wrong is much better than to call them out on what they did wrong and how bad they did. The correct way to approch this situation would be to explain what they did wrong, tell them the correct way for next time, and most importantly to then come back with a positive compliment. Criticism is good, but not when it tears down a students confidence level.
At a more personal level, positivity in the classroom may be the only encouragement a student may get. With the amount of broken homes in today's society, it's very probable that you will take a broken child under your wing. Often with troubled children comes troubling behavior, and reacting negatively is not the solution. Being positive to a student in need could potentially change their outlook on life.
