Being a teacher is something that many people have the skills for and it is a career that interests a lot of people. However, because it is so popular, you will find there are many teachers who are satisfactory and do a good job – but who aren’t the teacher the students remember. They aren’t the ones who inspire and change lives.
In order to be that teacher, the special kind of teacher, you will need to learn how not only to teach, but to teach in the best way you can. Here are some ways you can do it.
Keep Learning
If a teacher wants their students to learn well and do their best, it is a good idea to set a good example and do the same. Continuing to learn even when you have already gained your teaching degree can help in many ways, and learning further by obtaining your Merrimack College M.Ed. in elementary education will help you do a better job or apply for a better job, depending on where you see your career path going.
In addition to gaining more qualifications, you can enhance your learning by reading papers written by specialists in your field, attending conferences, reading blogs, and discussing the field of teaching with other teachers.
Have A Positive Attitude
Another way to ensure you are a better teacher is to be positive about what you are doing. This idea will work no matter what career you are in, but in teaching it is crucial. Your students will learn by example and if you attend the school with a negative attitude and show that you don’t like the place or the subject or your job in general, you can’t expect your students to feel any differently.
This will not only make teaching them hard for you and other teachers, but it will ruin their school experience. School is difficult for many, but having a teacher who clearly enjoys being there and loves to learn will inspire those who need to be inspired and can change attitudes to learning. It might even make someone who dislikes school understand that there are good things to be done there.
Have Fun
Whatever you happen to be teaching, you need to make it fun. There is nothing worse than a teacher who stands at the front of the room and lists off dates and facts without making those dates and facts enjoyable or even relatable.
If a lesson is fun, it will be remembered and the students will therefore have more knowledge than if you simply tell them things. Plus, you’ll be loved as a teacher and everyone will want to be in your class, and although teachers don’t do their jobs to please their egos – it can’t hurt to know that you are loved.
Lessons can be made fun in many different ways including using props and costumes, using technology, making the lesson funny, and involving the students more. You’ll need to do what feels right and natural, otherwise the lesson will fall flat, and this is why you’ll need to do extra work to get things right. It will be worth it though.
