Good teachers have more than just the right qualifications, they also have a mixture of soft skills that help make them great at what they do.
If you’re thinking about becoming a teacher, a degree and subject knowledge alone aren’t enough. You also need some innate skills and qualities to be able to effectively lead a classroom and inspire pupils.
We’ve rounded up 8 qualities that make a great teacher. Read on to see if teaching could be a good match for you.
Passionate
Teaching can be challenging, so you need to have a genuine passion for the profession. A good teacher is also passionate about their subject and passes this on to their pupils.
You might already channel your passion regularly through sharing knowledge with others, tutoring family and friends, or volunteering work. A love for your subject, an enjoyment of coaching and supporting others, and a love of learning are all signs of a promising teacher.
Strong communicator
Teachers are constantly communicating.
When you’re standing at the front of the classroom, 20+ pupils are looking to you to guide them. You need to be able to get a message across successfully, give clear instructions, and provide helpful feedback.
Outside of the classroom, teachers respond to emails, talk to colleagues, take part in meetings, speak to parents/carers, and do playground duty. Each of these involves communicating well and being an active listener.
Adaptable
Teachers have to be quick on their feet. It might sound cliché, but no two days in the classroom are the same.
Whether it’s a classroom disruption, a technology mishap, managing poor behaviour, or a fire drill — you have to be prepared for the unexpected. If you can work well under pressure and deal well with change, you will be able to adapt and problem-solve successfully.
Patient
Children learn at different paces. While one pupil might grasp a concept quickly, another might take a few tries to develop a proper understanding.
Patience is key to making sure every pupil has a positive and effective learning experience. And it makes those ‘a-ha!’ moments, when a pupil finally ‘gets it’, that much more fulfilling.
Team player
Great teachers don’t fly solo. It’s a team effort to make a difference in schools.
While you might spend the majority of your time in the classroom as the only teacher, you will also spend a lot of time with other teachers and school staff, from teaching assistants and special educational needs coordinators to subject specialists and senior leaders.
You will learn something different from each person and work together collectively to flourish in the classroom — and in your career.
Organised
Lesson planning, marking, deadlines, additional responsibilities — all things that require good time management and planning.
A great teacher doesn’t show up to a lesson without a plan, miss a deadline, or give rushed feedback on homework. If you’re well organised, not only will it make your day-to-day less stressful, but it will also give you a better work-life balance overall.
Great subject knowledge
It’s not enough to just be passionate about your subject. You need to know it really well, too. If there’s one thing you can rely on, it’s a pupil asking a question you hadn’t even thought of.
As a teacher, you’re the expert in the classroom. The more you know, the better you can teach and support your pupils, and the better their educational outcomes will be.
Lifelong learner
Great teachers love learning. They love to learn themselves, and they really love helping others to learn.
If you have a continuous improvement mindset and you’re always striving to learn more and build (and refine) your skill set, you could be a good teacher.
If any of these skills and qualities come naturally to you, there’s not only a good chance that you could be a great teacher, but also that you would enjoy it.