A GOOD TEACHER IS LIKE A CANDLE - it consumes itself to light the way for others.

[Mad-ox]

A good teacher inspires students to want to do as well as possible or to know more.

[aziz abd]

A GOOD TEACHER .......: WATCH " THE DEAD POETS SOCIETY"(FILM) OR "THE KINDERGARTEN COP"(FILM) . AND ONE SHOULD ALWAYS ASK HIM OR HERSELF (WHAT CAN AN OLD STUCK MIND TEACH A MODERN ONE HOW TO DEAL WITH THE FUTURE?)

[The Linguist]

First of all, I would like to thank Mad-ox for the thread. It was such an illuminating thread for me. I have read all the posts so far . Thank you all.



Well, I agree on " a good teacher must be a good leaner''
A good teacher never ceases to learn in oder to be one step ahead of his students.

A good teacher should be in a good command of what s/he teaches.
This applies to non-native teachers whose mother tongue is not English.

As you said, a good teacher should inspire and motivate their students to learn. I read this saying this moring ' to be interesting , you must be interested' . So true ! A good teacher should be interested and enthusiastic about what s/he teaches.


It goes without saying that a good teacher must prepare well in adavnce , be a good model to copy ..... etc



From a student perspective, I would say a good teacher is the teacher who inspires me to be great and who encourges me to do better.

A good teacher is the one who corrects me when I make any mistake without making me feel embasrassad.

A good teacher makes the most complex subjects explicit and clear .

[Mad-ox]

A good teacher is an eager beaver!

[aziz abd]

A good teacher is, when his students say so.

[aziz abd]

A good teacher smells he is; every moment in his own classroom.

[rocking]

To consume yourself does not mean to destroy yourself but to work and improve yourself. The 'job' of a candle is to consume itself, in other words to work for others. Your job as a teacher is to keep ''the light of the candle lit'' as much as possible, as long as possible. And the best way to develope our knowledge, our vocabulary, our language skills ( reading, listening, writing, speaking ) is to teach others. Since by teaching others you also teach yourself. When you teach, in fact, you revise/repete the subject matter. REPETITION IS THE MOTHER OF SKILL! A good teacher must devote him/herself to his/her job entirely.


Madox

When some teachers are tired of the work, it is not a bad idea to make room for new faces in the old jobs, as all human beings tend to have their own limits - however hard we try to be perfect.
Diversity of the individuals could add to the learners' benefits.

[Mad-ox]

When some teachers are tired of the work, it is not a bad idea to make room for new faces in the old jobs, as all human beings tend to have their own limits - however hard we try to be perfect.
Diversity of the individuals could add to the learners' benefits.

I totally agree with you! In my country, we also face such kind problem. Unfortanetelly, there are a great deal of old & tired of work teachers who DO not want to make rooms for the younger generations!

[aziz abd]

I totally agree with you! In my country, we also face such kind problem. Unfortanetelly, there are a great deal of old & tired of work teachers who DO not want to make rooms for the younger generations!

Discover your students and with a bit of hard work you will be asked to give room for them (old & tired of work teachers).try.

[blingenfelter]

It's interesting to look at movies - Dead Poets was mentioned, and early in my career, I remember Dangerous Minds got me emotional. Stand and Deliver and Mr. Holland's Opus were great. Recently, I really liked Freedom Writers. They all demonstrate a few truths about great teachers, but the truth I found most tragic in Freedom Writers was her sacrifice of family (husband) for the students - the problem is that I find this true. In our society, in order to be a "great" teacher, we're asked to work long hours, be at evening events, coach or direct extra-curriculars, all sorts of things "for the sake of the students."

So when I read the quote "a candle - it consumes itself" I found it sadly true. The greatest challenge facing teachers today is balance, and finding ways to leave work at work, or they will become burnt out like that candle.