It has been my privilege and my joy to have spent the past 30 years of my life as a speaker, facilitator, and coach. During that time, I have worked with thousands of people. Many of those people have complimented me on being a “great teacher.” Whatever truth there is in those compliments, I must share the credit with the great teachers who taught me how to teach. As I consider each of those wonderful mentors, it is interesting to note some of the characteristics they all shared.
My great teachers were all students—not only of the subjects they taught, but of other subjects and life in general. They also kept informed about new and better ways to teach, including the use of the latest technologies.
My great teachers were all “student centered”—rather than “curriculum centered” or “teacher centered.” Their main objective was that each student learned the material—as opposed to getting through every iota of the curriculum or trying to impress the students with how smart or cleaver they were.
My great teachers created a “safe” learning environment—one in which questions were always encouraged, “wrong” answers were not made fun of, and learning didn’t have to constantly compete with doubt and fear.
My great teachers made the subject matter come alive. They all loved the material they were teaching, and we students could feel the energy of their passion—it was contagious! (Incidentally, these experiences taught me that there are few, if any, uninteresting subjects—just uninteresting teachers.)
My great teachers employed a wide variety of creative and fun teaching modalities in order to engage the primary processing modes (auditory, visual, kinesthetic) of all of their students.
Finally, every one of my great teachers made learning a wonderful adventure. They would expertly lead us on our learning journeys in such a way that we students would experience the excitement and sense of achievement that comes from discovering the answers for oneself.
They each understood that the joys of learning are not only to be found in obtaining the answers and learning new truths, but also in the journey to obtain those things. Having been taught by such teachers, I feel like I got to experience some of the wonder and joy great scientists, mathematicians, artists, musicians, etc. felt when they first made their important discoveries or created their masterworks. I am convinced, that no great teacher would ever deprive their students of the joys of discovery by simply giving them the answers. And I never get tired of watching the expressions on my student’s faces when the “light bulbs” of discovery turn on.
Every time I don my “teacher’s hat” and stand in front of a group or sit across from a client, I feel deep gratitude that each of my great teachers crossed my life path, and I can’t help but feel that each of them continues to teach through me.