Characteristics of a successful teacher. Evaluating the interpersonal classroom demographics.

Is it, or is it not important the relationship that exists between a teacher and a student? Is it or is it not important that teachers like their students, and care about their results? Is it, or is it not important that students can sense when their teachers openly display an attitude of indifference, or dislike towards them? Does the relationship between a teacher and a student affect, either positively, or negatively, the academic results of a student?

When I went to school back in the 1960s / 1970s, education was completely different from what it is today. It was based primarily upon firm control, the principle being that “Students should be seen, but never heard”, and when they were heard, or they defied the teachers' control, more often than not, it ended in some form of institution sanctioned punishment. I can't remember how many times I was either sent to the detention room after school to write lines, told to bend over the teachers' desk and given a very painful whack across the back of the legs with the yard ruler or whipped across the palm of my hand with the Headmasters cane. It was believed in those times that painful lessons were both effective, and rarely forgotten. In my case, I seemed to have had a very short memory because I was often on the receiving end of some form of punishment or another.

Today, thankfully, this style of education has been relegated to the history books in most countries, but when I think back about this, I realize that I neither liked, nor respected many of my teachers, and that my education and the attitude that I displayed in class was based, in part, upon my reaction to the strict discipline upon which it was firmly based. I also don't remember ever forming a personal bond with any of my teachers, my memories being based more upon unsmiling individuals who enforced a program of strictly controlled rules, procedures, and discipline.  Today, as an educator myself, I have often thought about this and I have come to the realization that in many ways, this form of education was a failure in relative terms and that learning in an environment where students felt fear of, or a lack of respect for their teachers, limited the overall results that the students achieved.

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When considering this situation today, the question that comes to my mind is ¨Can students learn from teachers that they neither like, nor respect, or, who don't like and respect them in return?” Today’s teachers are educated and prepared to a level that undoubtedly exceeds that of their predecessors of 30 or more years ago who rarely studied beyond a basic bachelors degree. The standards and expectations placed upon teachers back then dictated that this was more than sufficient whereas today, modern educators feel that a Masters Degree is now the mínimum level to achieve, and a Doctorate the aim for many. But, the question that begs to be answered is if today's educators, who strive to achieve multiple degrees, are enough to ensure a highly educated population, and does that equate to success for our students, or, is the relationship between teachers and students equally, or even more important? Can students effectively learn from teachers, regardless of their level of Education, or number of degrees, if they, or the teachers don't actually, like nor respect each other? I think not!

Over the years, as both a teacher, and a teacher trainer, I have come into contact with literally thousands of teachers, the majority of whom are great educators who both feel, and display great compassion and affection for their students. Despite this fact, amongst them I have also encountered a certain percentage who don't actually care if their students like them or not, let alone whether they pass or fail. A teacher once told me "I teach them what I know if they don't pay attention, and they fail, that´s their fault, not mine!". I distinctly remember feeling a terrible sense of negative presence about him, and his lack of care, maybe even contempt for his students was more than obvious. This is a situation that elicits the question, “How can anyone be a teacher if they don't care if their students like them, or if no positive bond or level of respect exists between them?” My answer to that question is that these people should never be teachers. Teachers are not an entity that are created within a university or teachers college, real teachers, effective teachers are born with an instinctive love of teaching as well as an empathy for people, both natural characteristics which give them a genuine care for their students, and the results that they achieve.

Demonstrating that you honestly care for your students has to be an intricate part of every teacher's natural characteristics, an unattachable element of whom we really are as educators. Teachers who lack the ability to care for their students will never generate a true passion for teaching within themselves, nor the consequential love of learning in their students. When teachers outwardly demonstrate a lack of care, students sense this, they feel it, and they will generally respond accordingly, often resulting in less than acceptable academic results. This is important for the fact that when students are successful, then their teacher is successful, but, when students fail, then the teacher is often a failure as well.

So, what are the characteristics of a successful teacher?

1. A successful teacher always cares about their students, and the results that  they achieve.
It must be remembered that in many cases, a a teacher is only successful when their students are successful and that a students failure can often be the failure of the teacher, especially when the underlying cause is a negative attitude. Teachers are not only sources of information and wisdom born of experience, they are the students major motivating forcé and direction, and when the information is presented clinically, the wisdom withheld, the motivation non-existent and the direction lacking, then students will generally run a high risk of achieving results that are at best mediocre, or even outright failure.

2. A successful teacher always smiles.
There is a very old expression, ¨When your smiling, the whole world smiles with you”. A smile is addictive, if you smile, then you will spread an affirmative energy throughout your classroom that will help your students to develop a positive attitude and energy. A teacher who is happy, upbeat, and who always smiles is like a powerful battery that powers a successful class.

3. A successful teacher always has a positive attitude.
It’s hard for students to be negative when their teacher is always positive and upbeat. Like influenza, positive, and negative feelings can be easily spread throughout the class, ultimately affecting most, if not all of the students in the classroom. By maintaining a positive attitude, especially when combined with a smile, the teacher will establish a positive and successful learning environment.

4. A successful teacher always listens to their students.
To think that students are too young, or that they lack the knowledge to have anything relevant, or intelligent to say is a mistake made by most teachers at least once in their careers. Like all of us, students, regardless of their age, have things that they need to express or share, and in many cases, nobody wants to listen or take them seriously. Listening to a student, and giving them positive feedback is often a proven way to fast-track a very respectful teacher/student relationship.

5. A successful teacher always gives positive encouragement to their students.
For a certain percentage of students, positive encouragement is something that eludes them in their normal day to day lives. For many students, this causes problems relating to their self-esteem and confidence, often having negative effects on their studies. To ensure a successful learning environment, one that has a foundation based on satisfactory results, then teachers need to automatically encourage their students by regularly giving them positive statements and comments. When teachers are negative with their students, then they breed negativity within them, but when they are positive and supportive, they breed positivity within them.

6. A successful teacher always displays understanding.
As in the case with positive encouragement, displaying understanding to students, and the situations that they face in life is essential to developing a successful learning environment. If a student gives an excuse for being unable to meet your requirements, or for why they are late to class, don’t automatically disbelieve them, or penalize them, listen, evaluate and try to give understanding. This is a guaranteed way to develop a successful student/teacher relationship.

7. A successful teacher always gives their students positive reinforcement.
“Well done”, “That's a great improvement”, or “That’s an outstanding effort” are all excellent examples of expressions of positive reinforcement. Everybody in the world, without exception, appreciates receiving positive comments for their efforts. This fact is especially relevant for children and young adults who often live with more negative than positive comments in their lives. A great teacher will always give positive reinforcement to their students, therefore being the recipients and benefactors of the positive results that they will receive in return from their students. How long has it been since you told a student “That’s great work, I’m really proud of you!”

8. A successful teacher always puts themselves into the shoes of their students.
If your teaching children, but your 40 years old, then to be successful, you must put yourself into the shoes of your students. If you are teaching 18-year-olds, but you are 60 years old, then once again, you must put yourself in their shoes. When planning and executing classes, remember that the classes are for your students, not for you, and must at all times appeal to the needs of your students. A teacher's primary responsibility is to successfully teach their students, and that will not happen if the class is too academic, too advanced, boring or irrelevant.

Just remember that students, regardless of their age, understand those who are tasked with the responsibility of looking after them, of educating them, or caring for them. They feel they sense, they interpret attitudes, and ultimately, generally speaking, they will react accordingly. If you truly want to be a successful teacher, then care about your students, care about their results, and let them feel that you care. But, on the other hand, if you don’t care, if you feel that your indifference is not important and that the students alone are responsible for their motivation and academic results, then my suggestion is to get a job driving a taxi, washing dishes in a restaurant, or if you like working outdoors, emptying bins on a garbage truck. If you’re not a teacher who cares about your students, then your knowledge, your skill level, everything technical that you have learned has little to no value and your studies to become a teacher were a waste of several years of your life and thousands of dollars of your parents' money. Are you a real teacher or not?

Do you care about your students?

This article was first written in 2015 and rewritten and republished in 2018.