How To Be A Good Teacher (Part II)

This is a sequel to an earlier post. Recently, the Dove brought to my attention a piece in the Guardian where David Cameron was called out on his elitist approach to teacher recruitment. He seemed to think that being a teacher was first of all an academic calling, which is, I suppose, what most people who aren't teachers would think without further reflection.

The article says that "there are four types of teacher who are effective: the despot, the carer, the charmer, and the rebel." I agree as to the types, but I also believe that combinations of these types can be effective as well.

To be honest, a lot of young people I hardly know now think of me as the rebel who fell out of the firmament. But that's not how I was. I think I was just a teacher who tried in many ways to do his best, was good at some things and not-so-good at others, but who always tried to remain true to my calling, my mission, and my creed.

Yes, you can be a good teacher by enforcing discipline and providing clear direction; this is what the tyrants of old were elected (yes, elected, even in Athens) to do. You can be a good teacher by caring a lot and making sure each student is given a fair chance in life. You can be one by charming people into being interested in life and learning. And you can be one by trying hard to help students deprogramme themselves, making them more aware of what life is really about and what it's not — a 'rage against the machine' approach.

But to be great teacher somehow requires one to meld these approaches, to treat them as ingredients in a greater endeavour, and pray that somehow the Divine will sanctify one's efforts and complete the work of one's hands.