Top 10 Most Stressful Jobs in America

Top 10 Most Stressful Jobs in America

Everyone who earns a wage pays for it with some level of stress. Some professions are lower in pressure, and some are off the stress-o-meter charts. Which jobs are the most stressful? Here are 10 that top the list.

10: Miner Miners spend long, physically demanding hours in dark, cramped conditions, unable to see the sun or get a breath of fresh air. The danger of being trapped or killed is ever-present, as is the fear that the mine will close and the workers will lose their jobs.

9: Corporate Executive Long hours, cutthroat competition, highly visible and closely scrutinized successes and failures, and few work-free moments define the life of the corporate executive. These lucrative, white-collar jobs might seem highly desirable, but those at the top are under constant pressure to increase revenues, satisfy stakeholders and pass public scrutiny.

8: Newspaper Reporter Most reporters work long hours meeting firm deadlines for relatively low pay. Their schedules are apt to change with little notice; when news happens, reporters race to the locations regardless if it is day or night, weekend or holiday. The job is now even more stressful as newspapers struggle to enter the Internet age and layoffs abound.

7: Those Who Fly, and Those Who Help Them The stakes are high for pilots, with each takeoff demanding that they fly planes safely or die -- taking a lot of other people with them. Air traffic controllers, too, work under intense pressure, sitting for long stretches at their equipment and making split-second, potentially life-or-death decisions.

6: Emergency Personnel Accidents from minor to catastrophic command the immediate presence of firefighters and emergency medical technicians, both working long hours for not a lot of money. Often in physical danger themselves, they deal with people who are injured or frightened, and they must live with the reality that no matter how well they perform, they can't save everyone.

5: Medical Professional Those expected to fix people's ailments are under constant pressure to focus and execute. Surgeons must concentrate on precision for hours at a time, psychiatrists listen intently, dentists are on their feet for hours, and medical interns work hard without much sleep. Medical professionals are often under additional pressure to do their part to make the business profitable.

4: Teacher Many people think that teachers have good working schedules, but teachers take a lot of work home since there are always lessons to plan, papers to grade and records to keep. The pay isn't much compared to professions with similar educational requirements, and teachers are under constant scrutiny to improve test scores year after year.

3: Police Officer Whether they work for local police, county sheriff's departments, the highway patrol or other agencies, law-enforcement officers must be ready to put their lives on the line every time a call comes in. They must be hyper vigilant to potential danger at every moment, yet at the same time must practice restraint to ensure excessive force doesn't cause harm to others; split-second judgments may be second-guessed for a long time.

2: Deployed Military Personnel Military personnel may have job security with excellent benefits, but they have little freedom of choice when it comes to assignments, and orders change with little warning. When deployed, they're separated from loved ones while under constant threat of explosives and attacks. When they come home, they may suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, and those in the reserves have the added concern of whether their jobs will be available when their tour of duty ends.

1: Working Parents There's often no line of division between time spent working and time spent parenting, and it's a stressful combination in which balance is nearly impossible to achieve. When a child needs attention, the time spent taking care of his or her needs may conflict mightily with daytime duties and overtime deadline crunches. Many parents are also teachers, soldiers, doctors, police officers and any of the other stressful jobs on this list. Imagine that

The 10 Most (and Least) Stressful Jobs of 2016

 

While most professionals feel some level of job-related stress, new research reveals which careers are the most and least stressful.
Generally speaking, the most stressful jobs in the United States are those that put lives on the line each day, according to CareerCast's 2016 most stressful jobs list. Topping this year's list for the most stressful jobs are enlisted military personnel, whose physical demands, perilous conditions and personal risk are all major factors in the high stress level.

In addition to the numerous military men and women who are killed or injured in the line of duty, many veterans face mental health problems, including post-traumatic stress disorder. According to the research, 30 percent of soldiers develop mental health issues within four months of returning home.


However, although military jobs are immensely stressful, they do offer many benefits, said Kyle Kensing, CareerCast's online content editor.
"While jobs in the military hold inherent risk, they are essential to defending our country, and military salaries provide a comfortable lifestyle with pay and benefits that compete with most civilian careers," Kensing said in a statement.

In addition, firefighter, airline pilot and police officer rank among the most stressful jobs on this year's list. All of these careers carry high levels of stress associated with protecting lives.

The amount of stress employees experience can be predicted, in part, by looking at the typical demands and crises inherent in the job. CareerCast's ranking system for stress considers 11 different job demands that can be expected to evoke stress, including the amount of travel, the growth potential, deadlines, working in the public eye, competitiveness, physical demands, environmental conditions, hazards, risk to one's own life, risk to the life of another, and meeting the public.

A high stress score was given if a particular demand was a major part of the job, fewer stress points were given if the demand was a small part of the job and no points were awarded if that demand was not usually required.

Here are the 10 most stressful jobs for 2016 and their stress scores:

1. Enlisted military personnel: 84.78
2. Firefighter: 60.59
3. Airline pilot: 60.46
4. Police officer: 53.82
5. Event coordinator: 49.93
6. Public relations executive: 48.46
7. Senior corporate executive: 47.46
8. Broadcaster: 47.30
9. Newspaper reporter: 46.76
10. Taxi driver: 46.33

The research found that public relations executives' stress comes from tight deadlines and sometimes having to handle communications in a crisis situation, while event coordinators' stress stems from having to successfully achieve a client's vision for important occasions, such as weddings or national conferences. Broadcasters and newspaper reporters ranked highly because of the stressful deadlines and declining job growth for those careers.


"Stress is unavoidable, no matter your line of work," Kensing said. "However, if you are looking for professions that offer job security, a good hiring outlook and salary, but few physical demands, deadlines and danger, consider low-stress jobs such as diagnostic medical sonographer, dietitian and librarian."

Here are this year's least stressful jobs and their stress scores:

1. Information security analyst: 3.80
2. Diagnostic medical sonographer: 4.00
3. Tenured university professor: 6.94
4. Hairstylist: 7.47
5. Medical records technician: 7.55
6. Medical laboratory technician: 8.98
7. Jeweler: 9.10
8. Audiologist: 9.30
9. Dietician: 10.23
10. Librarian: 10.58

The study shows that, of the 10 least stressful jobs, most require at least a bachelor's degree. Some of the careers, such as audiologist and tenured university professor, require a graduate degree.

If the government does not act, teachers will walk because of poor pay and overwork

Once inflation is taken into account, teachers have, on average, faced a real-terms pay cut of £2,273 since 2010 – this cannot go on, writes one union leader

Teachers need a pay rise. In 2011/12 the government imposed a two-year pay freeze on public sector workers which was followed by a one per cent pay cap until 2015/16 – a cap which has now been extended for another four years. Between 2010 and 2016, accounting for inflation, teachers have, on average, faced a real-terms pay cut of £2,273.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has commented that: “The government’s announced 1 per cent limit on annual pay increase for a further four years from 2016-17 is expected to reduce wages in the public sector to their lowest level relative to private sector wages since at least the 1990s”. This, argues the IFS, “could result in difficulties for public sector employers trying to recruit, retain and motivate high-quality workers”.
This warning is echoed by the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB) which found, in its 2016 report, that recruitment and retention was problematic, with increasing vacancies in all core subjects and difficulties in recruiting trainee teachers and retaining them in the profession.

The STRB stated: “The relative position of teachers’ earnings has deteriorated further this year and they continue to trail those of other professional occupations in most regions”. The STRB argued that there is a case for an uplift to the 1 per cent pay cap if teacher recruitment and retention problems are to be tackled successfully.

More recently, research by the Education Policy Institute (EPI) has shown that starting salaries for teachers in England languish 16 per cent lower than the average for the OECD countries. Young teachers in England have a heavier workload and their pay is considerably worse than that of their international counterparts.
Pay does matter.  It is a concrete, tangible way that society signals to teachers that their work is valued and that their heroic efforts on behalf of the nation’s children are recognised. This government believes that the public sector pay cap is essential to keep borrowing under control. But teachers’ patience can only be stretched so far.

The latest Department for Education (DfE) statistics show that 30 per cent of state school teachers who qualified in 2010 had quit by 2015. And the EPI found that only 48 per cent of the teaching workforce in England has ten or more years’ teaching experience. The rate of those leaving the profession has to be addressed if educational standards are going to be maintained, never mind rise.

In the end, faced with catastrophic teacher shortages, the government will have to take the brake off, and raise teachers’ pay substantially, which is what happened in the 1970s, and every decade thereafter.
When low pay is combined with an impossible workload, heavy handed and inappropriate workplace monitoring of performance, and constant government policy changes, the resulting mix is toxic.

No specifications, no resources, just a £30,000 bill

Just this week a school leader contacted me with another example of the unintended consequences of rushed, and botched, qualification reform. He wrote:
“I have just been working through the implications of the new maths A-level for this school, due for teaching from September 2017. It is relevant that maths is our biggest A-level subject with seven ‘sets’ in Year 12 and seven in Year 13. In April 2016, the DfE published the final summary of the new content. In summer 2016, draft specifications appeared from the examination boards. With less than a year to go, we do not have final specifications or resources to review (our sixth form open evening is in two weeks, the brochure has been published!).

"The new specification requires content to move from A2 to AS and vice-versa, content to be deleted, and content to be added. Our mapping of the content shows we would need to use five different textbooks (or homemade resources) to cover the topics – unless new textbooks are available to purchase.
"Since Year 13 students will be examined at A2 on all the material, we will need to let them keep Year 12 textbooks – this doubles the textbook demand.  140 students (seven classes) in Year 12, 130 in Year 13 = 270 students at £40 per student for books (under-estimated) = £10,800 = four times our annual maths budget.

"The new course appears to require access to computer suites for the statistics components (or laptops in maths rooms). We have four computer suites; they are fully timetabled for ICT, the new GCSE and A-level computing. Fourteen A-level maths classes will need periodic computing access – probably two class sets of Wi-Fi laptops costing £20,000.

No additional resources have been provided to implement this change (or any other of the recent examination changes).”
In summary: less than a year to go, no final specifications, no published resources, an anticipated bill of £30,000.

He added: “My maths colleagues are an exceptional team: on outcome measures the best department in the school. They work incredibly hard. They were hard to find! It is highly likely that they will start next year having had minimal time to prepare, inadequate resources and uncertainty regarding the IT equipment.
"Quite simply, as professionals, they deserve better … and it would be so easy to actually do these new curriculum implementations properly, but it seems no-one at the DfE (or Ofqual) cares ‘one jot’ for the most valuable component in the delivery of these course: our teachers.”

To which I would add only that maths teachers are hard to recruit, hard to retain, and have skills and knowledge that they could put to good use in many other professions, all of which would pay considerably more than they currently earn.

My fear is that the government, which currently disputes that there is a nationwide teacher recruitment problem, will do too little and act too late. Teachers will walk because of poor pay and overwork – both caused by lack of care for the profession. And, yet again, it will be the pupils who suffer

I hear of teachers crying on their kitchen floor because of the stress

Teachers expect to work hard but should not be expected to devote every minute of their lives to their job, writes one union leader

I was speaking recently at a joint ATL/NUT meeting on childhood and adolescent mental ill health when I was silenced by a young man who told me that while he was very concerned about adolescent stress, he was even more worried about his partner, a primary school teacher.  Increasingly, when he came home from work, he found her crying on the kitchen floor.

Even more recently I heard of one young teacher who had, as a performance objective, the instruction that she must not cry in the staffroom. She did not know what to be more mortified about – that she had cried in the staffroom, or that her line manager could propose such an objective without any thought about what might cause her to cry in the first place.

Tales like these are told to me just too often. It seems that teacher stress is increasingly being regarded as par for the course and part of the job. A newly qualified teacher, asking for help to deal with an impossible workload which took up every evening until 11pm and all of the weekend, was told by her line manager –"that’s the way it is in teaching".

Well, it should not be that way. Teachers, as professionals, expect to work hard but should not be expected to devote every minute of their lives to their work. Teachers need time to relax, to pursue hobbies, to talk to their families and friends. They need time to be human.

In no other profession would this entirely reasonable view be contested. Teachers, however, too often are expected to sacrifice their health, their relationships and their happiness to the job. I speak to too many teachers who are exhausted from the constant stress of never feeling they are on top of their workload; who know that there is always something else to do. They never really relax, apart from a week or two in the summer holidays. Constantly on the alert for the next thing, struggling under the weight of impossible demands, they are leaving the profession in increasing numbers, often with no other job to go to, worn down and worn out by the voracious demands of their work.

The education system cannot afford to be so profligate with its teachers. At the moment England is in a perfect storm of rising pupil numbers, falling teacher recruitment and poor teacher retention. Official figures show that the country will need nearly 160,000 additional teachers over the next three years, to cope with a projected 582,000 rise in primary and secondary age pupils by 2020. If our education system is to meet this immense challenge, it needs to value its teachers as its most precious resource, and treat them accordingly.
School leaders could start by collecting data on what is happening in their school.

How many hours are their staff working, and on what? ATL members complain about the hours spent on pointless bureaucracy which adds not one jot to the quality of their teaching or their pupils’ learning. Over-elaborate lesson plans; triple marking (have you got your green pen to hand?); taking photographs of their pupils’ practical maths work (to prove they have done some practical maths); stamping pupils’ books with "verbal feedback given" (to prove that they have given verbal feedback). These activities are pointless and unprofessional.

They betray a worrying lack of trust between school leaders and their staff, and this underpins activities which are, frankly, a waste of time. In the end, school leaders who make these demands are acting unprofessionally – because their key role should be to lead effective teaching and learning in their schools. The activities I have listed above do not, in any way, characterise effective teaching and learning. They are a waste of teachers’ valuable time

Teaching is among the 'top three most stressed occupations'

Teaching is consistently among the top three most stressful professions, according to a respected academic who has studied well-being in 80 occupations.
Sir Cary Cooper, professor of organisational psychology and health at the University of Manchester's business school and a former government adviser on well-being, told TES that the profession regularly ranked among the most stressful jobs.

“Of all the occupations I’ve studied, and that’s about 80, teachers are in the top three most stressed occupations,” he said. “The hours are long and antisocial, the workload is heavy and there is change for change’s sake from various governments.” 

His comments came as the country's biggest provider of new teachers, Teach First, revealed that it had started offering trainees psychological support because of concerns that classroom pressures could trigger mental health problems.

Other high-stress professions identifed by Sir Cary included healthcare and the uniformed services such as the police, ambulance and the fire services. He added that some parts of the IT industry were also high-stress. Librarians, gardeners and lab biologists tended to be among the least stressed professionals.
Sir Cary has published well over 100 pieces of research on workplace well-being and stress, during a 30-year career in academia. He is the outgoing chair of the Academy of Social Sciences and president of the counselling charity Relate.

He said anxiety, stress and depression were leading causes of sickness absence across many occupations, and in teaching these problems were “endemic”.
Sir Cary said constant changes in education policy added to teachers’ stress levels, and he urged the government to take a “hands-free” approach to education.

The government should treat schools in the same way that former chancellor Gordon Brown treated the Bank of England in 1997, by granting it independence from political control, he said.

Essential Aspects of Effective Teaching

 

Learning Outcomes 

Learning outcomes are central to the teaching and learning process (Biggs, 1999; Fink, 2003). Developing learning outcomes is the first critical step in course planning as they set the direction for the entire learning process.  They frame the content to be learned and guide appropriate assessments of learning. Learning outcomes inform students of intentions and direct student study efforts.  Finally they help both instructors and their students monitor their progress (Ambrose, Bridges, DiPietro, Lovett, & Norman, 2010).

A Note about Interrelated and Confusing Terms: Learning Outcomes and Learning Objectives 

Learning outcomes are the big picture, often complex goals that instructors expect students to achieve or learn by the end of the course.  They should be stated in terms of student performance, not what the instructor hopes to achieve, such as what content will be covered.  Learning outcomes are also called instructional goals (Diamond, 2008; Nilson, 2003).

Learning objectives are smaller units of learning that flow directly from the learning outcomes.  While a course may have about five larger learning outcomes, each learning outcome may have a few learning objectives associated with it.  For example, learning objectives may describe what students will learn from the discussion in a specific class. The literature often interchanges learning outcomes and learning objectives. In this book, I am referring to the larger learning outcomes.

During the last half of the twentieth century educators developed objectives using Benjamin Bloom's taxonomy to describe learning experiences (Bloom, 1956).  This taxonomy reflects the behaviorist psychological theories of learning that were accepted in the 1950s and 1960s and identified a hierarchy of levels of cognitive learning from recall to evaluate.  Objectives could also be in the psychomotor or affective domain.  Courses often had such a long list of behavioral objectives that faculty became frustrated and limited their teaching innovations (Diamond, 2008).  With the move towards more accountability and the focus on learning as opposed to teaching, educators are now using learning outcomes.

You have various learning taxonomies to choose from when developing learning outcomes.  Some of Bloom's original team, along with other scholars (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001), modified Bloom's taxonomy to be more consistent with current theories of learning and consider a hierarchy of types of cognitive processes (similar to the verbs used in Bloom's taxonomy) required to learn and four nonhierarchical types of knowledge: factual, conceptual, procedural and metacognitive.  L. Dee Fink (2003) offers very different taxonomy of learning by identifying six types of learning: fundamental knowledge, application, integration, human dimension, caring, and learning how to learn.  Choose the learning taxonomy that best suits your learning goals.

Teaching/Learning Methods 

I call this element of this aspect teaching/learning methods because I see them combined into one process with a learning-centered approach.  Learning is now an integral part of the teaching process. Instead of only lecturing to students, instructors now engage students in many different active learning activities, including role playing, simulations, debates, case studies, small group learning, and problem-based learning (Fink, 2003).  Learners need to interpret content in ways that make it meaningful to them, not just hear or read it.

 Teaching/learning methods can also occur out of the classroom as assignments or in online learning.
Active learning methods that foster deep and intentional learning often involve interactions with others.  In these situations, students take control of their own learning.  Active learning through discussing the content or solving problems in small groups leads to better long-term retention and the ability to use the material in new situations in the future.  When students articulate their ideas to their peers, hear what others have to say about these ideas, and collaborate on an instructional task, their conceptual learning improves (Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 2000; Fox & Hackerman, 2003; Kuh, Kinzie, Schuh, & Whitt, 2005; McKeachie, 2007; Resnick, 1991).

Most concepts and tasks in higher education are complex, involving different component skills, cognitive processes, and many different facts.  To help students learn, instructors need to break down these complex concepts or tasks into their component parts, provide students opportunities to perform these skills or cognitive processes separately, and then allow them to practice the integrated tasks before assessing them. Instructors can point out the key aspects of the task so students know where to concentrate their efforts (Ambrose et al., 2010).  Reading the educational literature on this topic can be useful as others may have conducted research on how to teach this concept.

Sometimes instructors have trouble seeing these components as distinct because they appear so integrated.  An advanced student or teaching assistant can help unpack these components. When students engage in authentic learning, defined as solving real-world problems, they become more motivated to learn deeply and with intention.  Often students work collaboratively and use technology as they carry out these tasks.  Authentic learning promotes the development of critical thinking and the ability to organize and use information and creativity (Doyle, 2011).

Acquisition of Knowledge, Skills, and Values 

The contemporary view of learning is defined as knowledge construction.  Psychological research shows that the most effective learning occurs when students build their own associations between new information and their previous knowledge base, not when they memorize how others have framed it (Alexander & Murphy, 1998; Mayer, 1998).  An individual's prior knowledge about a topic influences what and how he or she learns new material; it can help or hinder new learning.

Students' prior knowledge may include appropriate and inappropriate conceptions or beliefs.  Effective teachers find out if their students have incorrect prior knowledge, such as misconceptions or stereotypes, by assessing students; understanding when they begin the course or unit.  Instructors address any erroneous knowledge by challenging the misconceptions directly.  This is especially important in the physical, biological, and social sciences.  Experiences with previous students and the literature in the field further identify common misconceptions and stereotypes (Ambrose et al., 2010; Fox & Hackerman, 2003).

Motivational theory and cognitive psychology describe conditions that foster this acquisition of knowledge, skills, and values. The relationship between the difficulty of a course and student learning is curvilinear.  The best learning occurs when the course is perceived as difficult enough to be challenging, but still seen as achievable.  Under these circumstances, students are motivated to try.

If a course is too easy, students do not put forth any effort.  If the course is perceived as too difficult, students are not motivated to try because they think there is no way they will succeed (McKeachie, 2007). After three decades of research on college students, Ernest Pascarella and Patrick Terenzini (2005) conclude that the student's amount of effort and level of involvement is one of the best predictors of the impact of higher education on him or her.  The more involved and engaged students are with their educational program, the more they will be influenced by their college experience.

Problem Solving and Critical Thinking 

Employers and society in general expect college graduates to be able to apply the facts for critical thinking and problem solving.  These skills are almost universally required in all careers today (Jones, 2005).
Problem solving depends on in-depth knowledge of the discipline and the context.  Apt problem solvers generate detailed and correct representations and individualized contexts for problems that accurately represent the dilemma.

These representations and contexts are highly specific according to the organizing structures of that discipline.  Good problem solvers employ discipline-specific procedural skills (Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 2000; Wittrock, 1998). For example, graduate students in chemistry can solve chemical problems, but their education does not increase their ability to solve problems in other disciplines.

Effective problem solving draws on different processes: selecting the appropriate strategy, applying this strategy to solve the particular problem, and monitoring the success of that strategy.  All of these processes are essential to successful problem solving.  The task is to give students opportunities to learn and practice different strategies in different types of situations.  Good problem solvers try another strategy when they find that the initial tactic did not work; weaker problem solvers continue to apply the same approach even if it is not working (National Research Council, 2001).

The Elements of a Good Teacher

The Elements of a Good Teacher

I've never been a teacher, so immediately some would say, "You have no right to judge teachers." This attitude drives a wedge between a teacher and a student, making it seem as though the two are different, when in fact teachers are students, and students are just teachers in training.

This attitude also creates a power structure that is damaging to the relationship between a teacher and a student. A teacher is not a dictator of knowledge, but a only a guide that shows the student the way. The teacher may only impart tools to the student so that they can traverse the road on their own, rather than being carried to the end, thus learning nothing.

I don't mean this just in the philosophical sense, but also practically such as in a typical classroom setting. In the book How to Solve It by Polya, he begins with a fictional dialogue between a math teacher and his lost student. The student is attempting to figure out a formula for finding the length of a diagonal in a rectangular box. Throughout the whole conversation, Polya emphasizes the types of questions that a teacher asks to inadvertently force the student to figure out the problem on their own. 

 

He spends around 30 pages of detail about how this is done, but some example questions include, “Have you used all the information in the condition?”, “Do you know a similar problem with the same types of unknowns?”, “What is the unknown in the problem?”, “What do you think the answer will look like?” etc. An example of a bad question would be, “Could you use the pythagorean theorem in this problem?” This is bad because, (1) the student has no idea how the teacher figured out that you need to use the pythagorean theorem in the problem (2) the student will not understand how generalization was used to solve the problem (3) the question may have given away the answer and thus the student learned nothing because no effort was required. By asking a question like, “Could you use the pythagorean theorem in this problem?” would carry the student to the end, rather than requiring him to find their own way.

What is more important to a teacher than amassing an impressive amount of scholastic knowledge, is learning to think like their student, so that they can understand where they are encountering roadblocks. This requires patience, empathy, and respect. 

 

A more accurate word than respect might be reverence, which emphasizes “learning your place”. A teacher who is arrogant is the worst kind of teacher, because they believe they somehow dictate knowledge, and that they are always right. A teacher who is arrogant also cannot adapt to their student, and will be unable to help them at all. And of course, a teacher is also a student and that they are sometimes wrong implying that they could learn from their student. A teacher who remembers this will remain humble.

Characteristics of a good/ great teacher

Characteristics of a good/ great teacher are not so different between cultures even if methods and interpretations are. Most cultures hold teachers to a high standard of knowledge and character. Teachers are with our children minimum seven to eight hours per day in every country.. They help to mold and shape character and knowledge. How many of us would place this responsibility into the hands of a perfect stranger? Yet we often do when we send our children to school.

Why would we do such a thing? We trust a system that we have been a part of. This system certifies our teachers as having met certain standards, and levels of training. We trust they are being held to a high ethic as well by our school boards or whoever governs our school systems. Have we let our expectations slide? I think in some cases we have. Most teachers are good teachers, but are they of good character? But are they great teacher? What are the characteristics of a good/great teacher? On this serious issue here is a SERIES  of above 100 articles. world is top teachers and expert writers, educators  describe the exact point of view on this issue. this is not necessary you are agree on every point but undoughtly this is the best theory or content or process for how to be a good and great teacher. What do you think about it? Please write to us.welcome on the board.

Teacher needs flexibility (1)

Communicates Knowledge
Teacher should have knowledge of what they are teaching and the ability to share that knowledge. The second part of that statement is the most important. Knowing is not the same as communicating knowledge effectively. Ability to gain student interest often hinges on the attitude of the teacher and their ability to communicate at a student’s level.

Flexibility and Tolerance
The teacher needs flexibility in teaching style and method. No two students are the same. Not all students learn the same way or at the same pace. If a teacher doesn’t develop a way to reach the single student, they are going to have difficulty teaching a group. If that sounds a little backward think about it. I used to help develop daily schedules and training plans for a group of sixteen people with special needs in an institution. There is no doubt each has a unique need in those situations. It’s easy to let some needs slide. Yet, if we let an important need slide, it will affect other aspects of their development. Balance is the key, and meeting individual needs in a group is possible. I’ve been told it isn’t, but I’ve proven it is.


Sense of Detachment
A teacher should never personalize a student’s inability to cope in a classroom setting. By personalizing the student’s problems they end up resenting the student. A teacher who resents a student has lost the priority; which is the student. The student may have learning disabilities or be extremely gifted. It is not a reflection on the teacher that these children have such challenges. It is the teacher’s responsibility to seek proper evaluation and guidance for teaching the student and/or helping the parents do so as well.

Creativity and Humor
Creativity is a must for teachers. Keeping a student’s attention especially in kindergarten or first grade is tough. Adapting classroom projects into fun ways of learning, or interesting challenges for students helps them “think outside the box” and develop their own creative learning processes. This teacher is less likely to ask all students to fit into a narrow framework for learning. Without a sense of humor, the teacher is not likely to survive student antics.

Listener
The ability to listen is not only important for teachers to evaluate student progress, but to help target potential problems. understanding helped her to listen to his concerns more and offer some reassurance at school.

Patient yet Firm
Teachers need to be patient, but they also need to be firm. Most children are reassured and feel safer if they know their limits. If a teacher does not remain firm on some set boundaries in the classroom, children usually retaliate through behaviors. Firm does not mean screaming at a child, it means letting them know your limits and holding to them. Patience is a part of being firm. Children cannot learn a teacher’s boundaries and rules within a day, and some will test even longer. The teacher often writes classroom rules on the board and/or may have a reward system to stimulate a desire for displaying good behavior. Patience comes in giving students time to absorb the reality of boundaries. Firmness is in correcting the student through reminders.

Good Example
A teacher needs to set a good example for their students. This takes a certain amount of good moral character. I’m not saying they all have to attend church every Sunday. What I am suggesting is realizing that their position requires them to display acceptable behavior in the community. Teachers need to maintain respectability in their lifestyle beyond the school grounds. My son once came home after a wrestling practice and noticed one of his teachers in a drunken state, setting on his porch, spouting foul language and racial remarks. This man was a coach and someone my son looked up to. The kid was devastated. He did not have much respect for that teacher after that.

Whatever social structure and governing bodies we have, we need to have a certain amount of trust in them and those who teach our children. We are careful to know the doctor who holds the lives of our children in their hands at birth. Teachers should also be held to a high standard and scrutinized closely. They hold our children’s future in their classrooms. I’d like to say that all teachers and parents fit these character traits. Most do, but the few who don’t can cause damage to our children and their development.

Must exercise balance in everything (2)

The teaching profession is blemished by men and women who earned the degree necessary to work with children, but  underachieve in the classroom. Conversely, there are those gifted educators who dedicate their careers to making a positive impact in the lives of children and who do a remarkable job accomplishing their goals. Most of us have experienced the curse of suffering under the authority of a bad teacher and the blessing of a good teacher’s leadership, but what characteristics made the good teacher so special? A good teacher exhibits countless praiseworthy attributes, but three are absolutely supreme. A good teacher exudes a contagious passion for education. A good teacher demonstrates the ability to balance and prioritize numerous responsibilities. A good teacher unreservedly extends love and acceptance to all students.

The current political climate with regard to education has left a sour taste in the mouths of countless educators. Politicians desiring change have inadvertently caused many  to feel unappreciated resulting in a reduction of morale. Optimism is in short supply these days making it an even more valuable commodity. A good teacher overcomes the negativity in any envoronment and remembers that students come first. The enthusiasm and excitement of a good teacher is clearly recognizable and should be treasured by all who come into contact with it. Along with a good teacher’s zeal comes tremendous power to change lives for the better. Enthusiasm has the capability to squash out apathy and hopelessness in even the most obstinate students. It can transform a timid and insecure young person into a confident leader who realizes his or her full potential and accomplishes greatness. It inspires other educators to shun mediocrity and embrace excellence. Enthusiasm is contagious. It is a force to be sought after and deeply appreciated.

In the complex world of today’s classroom, teachers not only need to possess exemplary character and keen insight into the specific emotional, social and academic needs of students,  they also must pass on the right knowledge, to the correct degree, using methods that are best for each student. Educators must meet the mandates of state, federal and local governments, the requirements of the School Board and the petitions of the Principal.  In addition to all of this, maintaining a structured classroom environment is paramount to accomplishing anything positive. How can one person carry out such a seemingly insurmountable task? Balance!  A good teacher must exercise balance in everything he or she does. It is not enough to be loving, kind and encouraging while the students are out of control and carelessly putting themselves in danger with wild behavior. It is not enough to be a structured disciplinarian and create a quiet climate while the children are too afraid take risks. It is not enough for students to accomplish great academic strides at the expense of their self-confidence. Balancing and prioritizing responsibilities is fundamental to success.

Contemporary classrooms are made up of diverse groups of students with complex emotional, social and academic needs. A good teacher is committed to reaching out to every student with love and tolerance. Some students demand more time and effort than others, but a good teacher is determined to break down walls and maneuver around barriers to support a challenging student and bring out the best in him. Simultaneously, a good teacher makes sure he does not neglect students who are less demanding or intentionally attempt to fade into the background and go unnoticed. A good teacher puts in the effort to connect with the rebellious to the bashful and everyone in between. It is a demanding endeavor, but a good teacher highly values every student and refuses to leave anyone behind.

A good teacher is easily recognized. She is zealous in her approach to education and inspires everyone around her with cheerful optimism. He manages tremendous responsibility with balance. He employs a holistic approach to education and does not get bogged down and overly focused on one aspect of teaching at the expense of other equally important areas. She recognizes the importance of treating students as individuals and is tenacious in her approach to meeting the diverse needs of her students. A good teacher is a precious treasure whose full impact is far reaching and immeasurable.

Good teachers love teaching (3)

As in any profession, teaching has its good and it not-so-good members. As a teacher myself, I think most teachers who have endured for five or more years in the classroom are probably good teachers. If not, they would most likely already have been “weeded out” or decided on another career choice on their own during that time span.

While teachers are certainly individuals, with each having her strong points, effective teachers do share several qualities.The best instructors are motivating, patient, knowledgeable, and interesting. Also, they share what I call the T-factor, a hard-to-define nebulous ability to transfer information and a desire for knowledge from their minds into the brains of their students.

In order to be a quality teacher, one has to be able to motivate students to learn by being an active participant in the learning process. This is not always easy to do. Sure, it’s easy to force a chhild to sit in his desk, be quiet, and look as if he’s listening, but to actually get the students to want to learn the material sometimes takes almost Hurculean efforts. Good teachers have an arsenal of motivational strategies. Teachers also have to have patience, sometimes at a level comparable to Job. Unless the teacher is a college instructor, kids are involved, and we all know that kids will be kids.

Teachers have to be able to handle myriad outbursts, tears, class clowns, slow learners, and all sorts of misbehaviors from time to time without losing her temper.
Good teachers must be knowledgeable. How will they teach their subject to others if they themselves don’t have a deep understanding of the material? In addition to being knowledgeable about their own area, they also need to have a working knowledge of psychology in order to handle a group of thirty or so children without the class turning into a chaotic frenzy.

One of the most important qualities a good teacher possesses is the ability to interest her students. Kids quickly become bored, and a bored student will ultimately “tune out” the teacher and daydream about a plethora of pleasures more enjoyable than being trapped in a school desk. Effective teachers use a variety of visual, audio, and kinesthetic modes to keep students interested, sprinkled with a great sense of humor.
The T-factor is, without a doubt, THE most important element in a great teacher. This is the ability to actually teach, to impart wisdom into young minds. A teacher can know her subject inside and out, but if she can’t share that knowledge with others, she’s virtually useless.

Case in point: I once had a math teacher who had an IQ of 170, but he could not teach. He couldn’t share his brilliance with his classes. This quality is difficult to attain. It can’t be taught by a special formula. But good teachers somehow have it.Good teachers love teaching, and it’s evident to her students. Kids are smart and hard to fool. A teacher can’t just tell them she loves her job and expect them to believe it. She proves it to them by her actions – the way she teaches and the way she treats her students. Most of all, a good teacher will tell you she doesn’t teach her subject; she teaches children.

Great teachers are confident (4)

In a lifetime, we as people will be graced with the presence of one great teacher. If we are lucky, it’ll be two. These people end up shaping our lives for the better because of their greatness, and we deeply admire them for that. A great teacher has many faces. They may typically be a professor or teacher in the classroom, but often they can be our family, friends, coworkers, and neighbors. It makes no difference who they are really, or what their profession, but great teachers all have one thing in common. They instill inside us values, knowledge, hopes and dreams.

Once they’ve been taught to us, we are changed for the rest of our lives.
Teachers who teach for a profession have high expectations to meet. They hold our young children’s minds in their hands and mold them like pieces of fine clay. Greatness is expected form these teachers as they are responsible for helping bring our children into their adult lives. This is partly why it is important to find the characteristics that these great teachers share. If teachers are to be taught themselves, they must be taught the excellent traits of their peers before them.Let’s take a look at the qualities that define a great teacher.

1. Love What They Do
There is no question, that awesome teachers love to teach. Not doing it for the money, prestige, or glory, they teach because it brings them an incredible feeling of satisfaction knowing they are contributing positively to the futures of others. If a teacher doesn’t have this inner satisfaction, and does not enjoy what they do, they’ll never be able to make lasting impressions in their students minds. Passion has great impact, and this is something that all great teachers have.

2. Good Communicators
A teacher has the responsibility of bridging the gap between themselves and their students, so good communication skills are a must. It’s difficult sometimes to relate to people, especially children, so that learning can happen in their minds, but excellent teachers are masters of this. Relating to students on the student’s level, these teachers have developed many ways to reach their students, and communicate using terrific speaking skills, visual aids, and even in their body language.

3. Admirable
In order for a teacher to be great, they must be admirable. These teachers lead lives of high moral ground, and they set an example to their students because of it. Really though, admirable teachers are more credible than others. We as people are much more likely to listen to those we admire, because we wish to be like them. Models of who we would like to someday be, great teachers help show us the way.

4. Positive Reinforcement
Instead of using strict punishment to discipline students, great teachers know how to use positive reinforcement to discipline instead. These teachers understand that negatively hinders how their students learn, creates resentment in the students minds, and ends up breaking the ties of the student-teacher relationship. Often these teachers reward their students for doing a good job, so they are more apt to doing it in the future.

5. Fair & Just
Equality is an ideal that great teachers hold dear to themselves. They treat their students equally, yet giving them the individual attention they need. No child is left out in the mind of a wonderful teacher, and they make it a mission to teach them all the same. In doing so, they end up teaching their students the importance of equality and fair treatment, even if the teacher hadn’t intended to do so.

6. Leadership
Great teachers are leaders. In the classroom, they own the spotlight, and have the responsibility of being strong instructors so that students listen to them with determination. They have to lead their students on the right path through the learning experience, and help by showing the obstacles that may stand in the student’s way.

7. Committed.
There is no doubt that a great teacher is committed. They go above and beyond the time requirements of a typical teacher, and are willing to help students whenever they need it. Great teachers are very committed to the curriculum they teach, and like their students, are always continuing to learn in the hopes of becoming even better teachers.

8. Understanding
Great teachers understand their students better than most people. They understand where their students came from, who they are, and know the best avenue to take them to who they will become. Great teachers have an uncanny understanding of what they teach, because they are experts in their fields of knowledge.

9. Compassion & Caring
There is suffering in the world, and a great teacher recognizes this and has the inner desire to help. Great teachers help by teaching, because they know that by giving knowledge to the next generation, they are creating individuals who will have the skills, compassion, and dedication to ending suffering. Great teachers care about the world and what they do and wouldn’t have things any other way.

10. Confidence
A teacher can’t teach without confidence. Students won’t believe in a teacher that first doesn’t believe in there-self. Great teachers are confident that they know how to teach, and in what they are teaching. Nothing stands in the way of this confidence, and the teacher does their best not to become arrogant about the job they do.

11. Prepared
Excellent teachers are prepared. They know they steps necessary in their curriculum to teach students, and follow them well. These teachers are always ready to go when the time calls for it and they never leave their students lost and not knowing the direction they are headed. Great teachers stick to the plans they’ve prepared, in order to teach the beat way possible

12. Professionalism
Professionalism is the sign of a great teacher. They know that as someone who is responsible for helping people learn, they must take their work seriously. Terrific teachers dress well, have good hygiene, and treat their students with respect. They believe in timeliness, and are never late and rarely miss days they are assigned to work. In do so, their students respect them, and are more willing to learn from them.There are many qualities that make up a great teacher, and these are some of the most important ones. The next time you think about that awesome teacher you had, whomever it may be, think about these qualities and what it takes to be a person who lives a life of admiration. If we truly learn from these people that have shaped our lives, then maybe we can become teachers too.

Teaching is not suited to everyone (5)

To some, teaching is the only rewarding profession to be part of, whilst to others it can be their worst nightmare. As with all professions, teaching is not suited to everyone. However, even within the profession itself there are those who fail and others who excel. Those who excel in this role do so because they possess a range of unique characteristic, either inherent or learnt well. The following are just seven of the most important characteristics and skills that go towards the making of a good teacher.

1. LEADERSHIP
Either from a natural ability or through a process of learning, good teachers will have leadership qualities and skills. They will use this attribute to encourage students to follow the path of learning that has been set for them, and to generate a real interest in the subject. Therefore, instead of viewing the topic as simply a part of the daily timetable, students will look forwards to the experience. Good use of leadership skills can build a leaning culture, with which every student in the class will desire to be a part of and want to become involved. As many leaders within the commercial world are called visionaries, so the teacher with good leadership skills will make their subject come alive in the minds of the student, making it a real experience rather than a journey through hard copy of text books and journals.

2.ORGANISATION
Organisational skills are extremely important to good teaching. This has to be obvious in the way that the teacher has prepared for the lesson they are giving and, in addition, the structure of the lesson, providing a natural flow for developing the subject being taught. Similarly, if equipment needs to be used or special arrangements made during the lesson, a good organisor will have prepared this in advance.Students will react to the level of organisational capability displayed by the teacher. For example, they are less likely to take a topic seriously if the teacher has to spend part of his or her time lesson trying to work out what they want to do or say next. Displaying this level of disorganisation will lead to students becoming distracted and not taking the learning process seriously, thus limiting the knowledge they receive.

3.COMMUNICATION
Understanding the art of good communications is essential for anyone in a position of delivering knowledge to others. This skill involves speaking, listening and watching. With regard to speaking, the teacher has to be able to deliver the subject in a voice manner that willgenerate interest and response from the student. The changes in tone and emphasis in the voice and the delivery will stop the tutoring from becoming a monotonous dirge, and will compel the students to pay attention.

However, communication is also about listening. There needs to gaps of silence within the delivery to allow students the opportunity to digest the information they have received and construction questions they may wish to ask for the purpose of clarification, further explanation or to give an opinion. When the student is speaking, the teacher has to use his or her own silence to concentrate upon what is being said, as this will help them to assess how successful they have been at imparting knowledge. The good teacher will learn as much as the student from this interaction.

Watching is another aspect of communication. Often a teacher may have up to thirty students attending their lesson, but it is important that he or she makes a connection with each. By watching students, good teachers will be able to notice if any are being left behind in the learning process, or if confusion is arising. Using communication skills the teacher will be able to address these issues if they occur, therefore ensuring the effectiveness of the message delivery.

4. RELATIONSHIP
A good teacher will build relationships with his students; relationships that consist of mutual trust and respect. This can be seen as an essential element of the learning process. If a student respects and trusts his or her teacher, they will trust and respect the message and knowledge that teacher imparts to them. Similarly, a good teacher has to respect those being tutored to enable them to deliver the subject matter in a positive manner.

5. DISCIPLINE
To excel at his craft, a good teacher will also know how to maintain discipline within the classroom, without which the opportunity of delivering a positive and heeded message will be seriously undermined. However, the discipline exerted will be built on the back of the relationship that they have developed, with the student. In this case, the disciplinary culture for the class will become an almost automatic reaction of students, making the task of teaching and learning a great deal easier.

6. HUMOUR
Just as humour is a part of life, so it plays a role in teaching when used appropriately. It can add texture, realism and life to even those subjects that many students might consider mundane. Humour can also enhance the connection between the teacher, student and the subject, creating a sort of bond between these elements. Furthermore, it can provide much needed relief in subjects that have an intense nature.

7. COMMITMENT
Finally, a good teacher has a commitment to their work. Many will say that it is a vocational calling. Whether others agree with this or not, there is no doubt that the best teachers have a passion for their work and for imparting knowledge to those willing and ready to learn.Good teachers disavow all the trappings of wealth and success that might attract to other careers in which they could probably be equally successful. To him or her wealth and satisfaction comes solely from the knowledge that they are helping to train and build solid foundations of knowledge and understanding for the generations of tomorrow