traits you like/ dislike in teachers

[CrustyOatmeal]

today i spent another night through one of my least favorite classes i have ever had. the teacher does a horrible job at "teaching" the class and is constantly incorrect about basic facts

well, the teacher has done one thing well and that is to inspire me to post this topic in hopes of helping future/ current teacher see the error of their ways. i am currently in college getting my degree in mathematics in hopes of becoming a teacher myself and i wanted to ask my fellow escapists about their favorite and their worst teachers and why they hold that special place in your heart. i want to know what i can do in my field to instruct my future students while not remaining such a stiff; so please, tell me the traits you like/ dislike in teachers

 

[Kakashi on crack]

I'll use my current math teacher as an example (because he's fricking awesome)

The people who go into teaching for a career do so out of a love for teaching, not for the job. The teacher who encourages a child even if they've shown lack of common sense at every turn will be the teacher who changes that child's life. When teaching someone how to do that, you have to be able to be flexible with your technique. It's almost 100% gaurunteed that not everyone will get it. In this aspect you have to be able to teach the whole class, and go around the room helping others who didn't catch on. This does not mean do the work for them, simply show them, and give them little nudges here and there along the way. If you yourself do not see the value of a certain material you are to teach, then do not be afraid to ask your fellow staff members and higher ups about how it is applied in the real world.

I could go on and on and on in a long drawn out speech, but basically: A teacher's job isn't to teach something, but to open up a gateway so that the student can learn the material in a way that won't dredge their brain into oblivion. it's a life experience, and those who teach will learn in the process.


EDIT: Forgot dislikes... Umm... Well a teacher that doesn't allow creative flow to an extent, teachers who give up on unruly students, and condescending attitudes. Treat the student as an equal who wishes to learn, not as something of less value.

 

[Hader]

I would love to have a teacher with good handwriting for once! At least for math classes. It would really help in calc 2.

 

[BGH122]

My absolute favourite ever teacher was genuinely inspiring. He loved his subject and would research any questions one asked him in his spare time. We still keep in touch to this day when I have philosophical questions to ask him and he always researches the answers and replies even though he's no longer my teacher! A love of the subject bordering on the esoteric is necessary to be a truly great teacher.

Traits I like least in teachers tend to focus around class control and interaction. I hate teachers who want to think of the students as their friends, who go into long discussions unrelated to the subject without prompting. I also hate teachers who have troubles controlling the class and think that the best way to show their dominance is to pick on the nerdy kids who they know won't fight back. This used to be a massive problem at the comprehensive I attended when I was a teen, where teachers would routinely discipline my friends and me for little to no reason because they were too afraid to discipline the vast majority of gangsters in the class.

 

[Griphphin]

If there's one thing that pisses me off about bad teachers, it's that they can kill your enthusiasm for a given subject, closing avenues of interest for you in the future.

 

[Ham_authority95]

today i spent another night through one of my least favorite classes i have ever had. the teacher does a horrible job at "teaching" the class and is constantly incorrect about basic facts

well, the teacher has done one thing well and that is to inspire me to post this topic in hopes of helping future/ current teacher see the error of their ways. i am currently in college getting my degree in mathematics in hopes of becoming a teacher myself and i wanted to ask my fellow escapists about their favorite and their worst teachers and why they hold that special place in your heart. i want to know what i can do in my field to instruct my future students while not remaining such a stiff; so please, tell me the traits you like/ dislike in teachers

First and foremost are teachers who are self-confident and don't read out of a book for lesson plans. You walk into class and they tell you how it fuckin' is.

That's how my english teacher was last year and he was a boss. You never saw kids who made fun of him during class because he was smarter and more arrogant than all of us combined, and if you didn't do your work he would humiliate you verbally. One quote was "If you fall asleep on your desk again I will wrap it around your head! Not that I would need to, since you WILL follow this order."


Too bad he's getting fired this year, which pissed me off a LOT since they're keeping teachers who are clearly worse than him...

 

[dkyros]

I hate teachers that do not know their subject very well. I went to a very prestigious school undergrad and now I'm in a program where the teacher is literally learning the subject with us. A student literally stood up and answered another students question in class.

 

[WorldCritic]

My favorite teacher was my English teacher for two years. She always knew what she was talking about, knew when to joke around and when to be serious, and gave a reasonable amout of work. Also she was a fan of God of War which surprised everyone.

My least favorite teacher was probably one of my Spanish teachers. I still don't get how she got the job since she was 21 and had no idea what she was doing. She knew some of the material for the course, but not enough to teach, got mad at people on a daily basis for her own mistakes, and I'm pretty sure she got the job because she seduced someone in administration, sadly that was never proven.

 

[Dogstile]

Well, I have a teacher who loves going on and on about some of the class not doing homework (It will literally take up half a lesson) and then will complain when she doesn't have time to cover the subject material.

Honestly, in college, we really should not have to put up with that. I don't give a damn if stupid mcpillock hasn't researched whatever the hell he was meant to be researching, can you please get on with the lesson and speak to the git after the lesson?

A good trait? Being enthusiastic. If you don't like the subject, don't teach it. If you don't like a certain age group, don't teach them.

I knew so many teachers back in secondary school who hated our age group but still taught (science and english mainly). After a single lesson you wondered why they even bothered.

 

[CrustyOatmeal]

I hate teachers that do not know their subject very well. I went to a very prestigious school undergrad and now I'm in a program where the teacher is literally learning the subject with us. A student literally stood up and answered another students question in class.

now imagine if it was like this EVERY DAM DAY and you may grasp what i am going through in the class i was complaining about. the problem is that my teacher (for child development) gets a lot of biology related statements wrong like the DNA and its purpose. she also doesn't use her own power points so she constantly skips around them and always takes 5-10 seconds actually reading the power points before talking about them. i cant tell you the number of times i have either corrected her or given the answer to another students question

my all time biggest pet peeve when it comes to teachers is inadequacy and she has that in spades

 

[Rapamaha]

in the last few years I have had more bad teachers than good ones studied electrical engineerin and now studying electronics,

bad traits: lack of interest in teaching, acting superior towards students,

good traits: when asked for help he/she explains the problem in the way that you actually understand, sometimes you are able to discuss with the teacher about other stuff than just school (you know, something that normal people talk also everynow and then)

 

[CrustyOatmeal]

Well, I have a teacher who loves going on and on about some of the class not doing homework (It will literally take up half a lesson) and then will complain when she doesn't have time to cover the subject material.

Honestly, in college, we really should not have to put up with that. I don't give a damn if stupid mcpillock hasn't researched whatever the hell he was meant to be researching, can you please get on with the lesson and speak to the git after the lesson?

A good trait? Being enthusiastic. If you don't like the subject, don't teach it. If you don't like a certain age group, don't teach them.

I knew so many teachers back in secondary school who hated our age group but still taught (science and english mainly). After a single lesson you wondered why they even bothered.

i feel your pain, i have a teacher who waits 30 minutes for all the late students to arrive before starting the lesson. if a student is late it is their responsibility to get the info they missed, not the teachers responsibility to essentially punish the students who arrived on time by waiting for the slackers

im still wondering what age group i should teach because i love 1-3rd grade (i use to be a teachers assistant) but i really want to teach calculus and i have been told that those two generally dont mix (even though i still have friends telling me i need to be the first 2nd grade calculus teacher). i dont mind high-schoolers but i love teaching little kids. i just have to decide what i love more, calculus or teaching little kids

 

[Shapsters]

My current Social Studies teacher is my ideal teacher, he is knowledgeable, funny, casual yet very strict and demands respect. The funny thing is that he is such a great teacher and person in general he rarely needs to remind people to give him respect. My class is amazingly well behaved, we are all seated before the second bell without being asked, we never talk during class and when silence is expected the room is almost deathly quiet.

My teacher stands in front of the room at the beginning of class and shows us a Powerpoint, everyone takes notes and he periodically stops educating to tell interesting anecdotes, ask students questions and receive unasked contribution from his students. I am genuinely interested in everything he says, impressed by his knowledge, and I almost always do the homework that is expected. He is honestly the best teacher I've ever had and has really inspired me, I would honestly consider becoming a teacher solely because of him.

What more could you want?

As for dislike, the other Socials teacher in my school is the perfect example. He hands out a worksheet and sits down at his desk. There are tests and quizzes seemingly every day and all knowledge is gained via copying things out of a book. Every time I walk out of a socials class I am thankful to NOT be in that class.

 

[ranasan]

I have problems with Teachers/Professors who go off topic. I was once discussing with a math teacher of how I was going to retake a couple of tests I had missed due to complications I had earlier, halfway through he ignored me completely to talk about basket ball with some other students... I never got to retake those tests and my grade suffered for it.
I even had a college professor who would not stop wasting the class's time with the situation in Burundi, she even made the final project about it! Halfway through she decided to change it to course appropriate material, but we had still wasted time on it.

I like a teacher that is able to talk to students without being distracting or insulting. And they should actually listen to the problems a student is having instead of making them feel like crap. You shouldn't be afraid of a teacher.

 

[ultrachicken]

I like when a teacher can keep the class in control.

I dislike when a teacher goes too far in attempting to keep the class in control.

 

[Kenbo Slice]

I hate when teachers just stand there and lecture the whole god damn time and don't make anything fun or interesting.

 

[Astoria]

My year 6/7 teacher will always be my favourite. He didn't treat the class as a whole but rather treated everyone as individuals. If you could be trusted to work on your own in a quiet area then you were allowed to but if you couldn't you'd have to stay under his watch. He always tried to make class as fun as possible and I don't think I saw him lose his temper once in 2 years. The biggest thing for teachers is they need to be fair and know what they're talking about. If they don't then students will have no respect for them.

 

[nukethetuna]

I personally like the abstract, open-minded teacher who likes discussion and is really attempting to expand the mind and viewpoint of their students rather than cram them full of text.

I am OKAY with the teacher that gets up front, lectures, gives tests, and goes home. I can understand if you don't like teaching, as long as its streamlined, I'm not going to hold it against you.

I do not like teachers that fail at either/try to be a mix of the above, and end up with a class that's impossibly unfocused, or full of pointless busywork.

 

[GenericAmerican]

I hate my bible teacher...he actually has lessened my faith in god to the point that I don't really believe in it anymore.

His latest fuck up, was just today. He says I haven't take last weeks verse quiz. Okay, but I was in your class last friday, I took the quiz, the student infront of me graded that quiz, you took that quiz, I told you my grade and you recorded that grade.

How the fuck can he say I never took it. Especially since I wasn't absent, I guess he figured I sat in class with my thumb up my ass.

Sorry, I'm pissed at him right now.

 

[Pearwood]

One of my lecturers always smells faintly of ether, claims to have done every reaction known to man and often fucks up simple tasks like folding filter paper properly without getting sulphuric acid all over it and turning all the liquid that goes through bright yellow. And yet somehow he's the best teacher I've got just because he explains things so well. Also he has a rather nice Indian accent.

I hate when teachers just stand there and lecture the whole god damn time and don't make anything fun or interesting.

Well you know you should be interested in what they have to say or you wouldn't be there in the first place...