I think that before I talk about my own teaching philosophy I should say a few things

about myself. My name is Benjamin Hayes, at the time of writing this I am 16 years old and a

junior at Glenbrook South High School. I don’t like school. In fact, I don’t think that it would be

a stretch to say that I despise school. Ironically I suppose this was my motivation for wanting to

learn about teaching, because even though I dislike school there were still bits and pieces that I

liked about it, and I want to bring those parts out in the classroom. Below I talk about what I

believe the most valuable qualities in a teacher are. Being a teacher means striving for

excellence. I don’t mean that in just the sense of bringing the best out of your students, but

always bringing out the best in yourself. Teaching is a very heavy responsibility, and in order to

live up to it there are 4 qualities I believe a good teacher must have.

A teacher must be adaptable. Teaching is a job with many mix ups and you need to be

prepared. Planned to do an outdoor lesson but now it’s raining outside? What’s your backup.

Class pet suddenly dies? How do you explain that to a child? You need to be prepared for these

kinds of situations. In addition, not all students learn in the same way. Some students are okay

just listening to a verbal explanation, while others need a visual aid, and even then perhaps other

students need a more hands on approach. As a teacher it is your duty to be able to explain these

concepts in many different ways.

A teacher must be hardworking. Teaching is no easy job, especially if it’s teaching

younger kids. As a teacher it is your responsibility to shape the young minds of the next

generation. As such a good teacher must devote themselves to their work and class, always

seeking to improve themselves and their teaching methods.

 A teacher must have patience. Students are people too, and as such it takes some students

much longer to catch on than others. Whether it’s simple counting, or a highschool level course

in statistics a teacher needs to be patient with their students. They need to be willing to stand by

their kids and help them along their journey no matter how long it takes.

While these three qualities are very important, there is a 4th quality that I believe is more

important than all of those. That quality is passion, both for your subject and for your students.

Getting up everyday and trying to teach a class is hard, but passion allows you to face those

challenges everyday.