Enhancing Dispositions

There are numerous dispositions that, as a teacher, one must constantly be aware of and striving to accommodate.  One question that might be proposed is how does a teacher keep track of all of these dispositions and still make lesson plans and such.  Up-keeping these dispositions is easily done if a teacher can reflect back on their work and ask themselves periodically if they have been a passionate, creative, compassionate, respectful, confident, respectful teacher.  By reflecting on one's work periodically and having others check in on your work their teaching expertise will continue to blossom and grow till the point where eventually the periods in which they need to reflect back on their work will lengthen to the point where they may be comfortable enough with their work to just keep continuing on without in-depth reflection.  In the end the only substitute for experience in becoming a more effective teacher is persistence and the intrinsic drive to achieve a higher standard of teaching.   

21st Century Creativity

My father grew up during a time where there were 3 basic skills taught in schools; reading, writing, and arithmetic.  This was 50 years ago, in that time the expectations of students and future employees alike have changed considerably.  In The Global Achievement Gap the author discusses how employers today are looking for more than that 4.0 student with the 30+ ACT score, they are looking for a person with creative thinking skills and versatility in the work environment.  As teachers our job is to prepare students for the workforce.  By being designated with this task we have to teach students creativity.  Now the real question is how do we teach a student to be creative? I believe that creativity isn't taught; it has to be discovered and offered a chance to grow.  This means that in order for a student to tap into their creative abilities a setting needs to be presented that would allow them to use their creative abilities.  Many times this only requires a teacher to step back an allow for an autonomy-supported classroom to form and student's creative sides come out. When the instructions for lessons are written out in black and white for the students their ability to critically think is not being utilized and if that ability is not being used then there is no way of developing it.

Passion in Teaching and Speaking

I have listened to a variety of speakers from many assorted backgrounds who presented a plethora of different arguments and topics.  Many of these speakers were hard to keep a focused attention to or I found their subject of minimal interest and I was not influenced or entranced by what they had to say.  When my grandpa died the priest who presided over the funeral was not the best orator I have ever listened to and in fact he had a very dry quality of speaking.  But in the setting of a funeral he was incredibly effective in capturing the attention of his audience as he navigated the congregation through Jerry's life and his devotion to the church and his family.  The priest was a friend of my grandpa and with the personal acquaintance that he had he was able to give a passionately presented homily that captured the attention of everyone in the church.  As hard as this may sound a teacher's task is to create a personal passion with the subject they are teaching in the same way that this priest did in order to capture the attention of the students they are teaching.  A teacher who is not passionate about his/her work will not be effective and they will not find fulfillment in their work.

Humility

One virtue that coincides with confidence is humility.  Without the proper amount of humility confidence can quickly turn into ego and the validity of a teacher is doubted.  As a teacher, student, husband, or anyone for that  matter you will have to be able to fess up to the fact that you are not always going to be right.  It's alright to admit that you're human, and in most cases it is better that people realize that you don't think so highly of yourself that you can't make a mistake.  We're human, of course we make mistakes, but being a humble person doesn't mean that when we make a mistake that we dwell on it.  When a good teacher makes a mistake they first admit that they made an error, they resolve the issue, then they continue on.  Some teachers have such confidence in themselves that they feel that they can not make a mistake and when they are accused of doing so they are to cocky to let themselves be humiliated.  To be a successful teacher it requires being able to admit to mistakes when they are made and then have the confidence to pick yourself up afterwards and move on with the lesson.  Another part of humility that some very successful people have trouble with is not "blowing your own horn" so to speak.  If you are a person with a highly sophisticated background or a plethora of achievements those achievements will still be there for people to know about without you gloating about it.  If someone wants to know about your life of achievement they will ask, you don't need to talk about it.  

Confidence

As a teacher, confidence is essential when acting as a role model and an influence for youth.  If the students in your class room can tell that as a teacher you are not confident in yourself and the material being taught they are far less likely to pay attention to your lessons.  If a student has doubt in the abilities of their teacher they have no reason to take stock in what they say.  Upheld credibility as a teacher is more important than any training a teacher could receive in being an effective teacher.  No teaching technique can make any difference in students learning if the students have no desire to learn from a teacher they doubt.
How does one become more confident in themselves and the subject they're teaching?  Experience is one way to develop confidence, but for a young teacher experience is a little sparse.  To compensate for this a young inexperienced teacher has to show more energy and excitement than they would normally be comfortable showing.  Teaching sometime requires stepping outside your comfort zone in order to capture students attention and drive the point of the lesson home. 

What does it mean to be genuine?

Being Authentic, showing a general sense of authenticity, or just showing a general care for the subject being taught is not an easy task for a teacher to accomplish.  As a teacher, everyday in the classroom they have to show a genuine interest and passion in the subject they are teaching because if they come off as being fake the students will loose and interest in the class and they will have no reason to pay attention to the material.  The underlying point behind being genuine as a teacehr is to intrigue the student's attention and interest to the subject being taught by showing that same interest and appreciation for the subject.
I had a chemistry teacher in high school that was totally ineffective in keeping her students on task and being engaged in class.  I always thought that no one liked her and that was why no one payed attention in her class, but looking back now I realize that the reason no one cared in that class was because she was not showing a authentic interest in what she was teaching.  She would make comments during class about how much she did not enjoy doing lesson plans and how the preparations for class were boring and pointless.  By showing that kind of interest in the subject being taught students tend to take a similar approach to that class as their teacher.    If a teacher is sarcastic during class and doesn't show enthusiasm in what they are teaching the students won't either.  An authentic teacher will inevitably create authentic students simply by the influence of enthusiasm and a general interest and appreciation for the material being taught.    

Chemistry and Mrs. Busch

During J-term of 2010 I observed a chemistry teacher at Decorah high school who had been teaching for 25 years.  Mrs. Busch had been teaching long enough that she had taught the parents of some of the students she was currently teaching.  From my first introduction with Mrs. Busch I was amazed at how kind and cheerful of a person she was to everyone around her.  Before and after class she was always very interested and supportive of all her students no matter what they were involved in.  When it came time to start class she was still able to retain that cheerful demeanor while holding the attention of her entire class.  There was a moment during that month of observation where I witnessed her have to discipline a student for getting out of line.  The way she handled the situation was not by snapping but by informing the student that what he was doing was hindering the class as a hole and that it was in his best interest to behave if not for himself for that good of the class.  Mrs. Busch's light-hearted attitude and ability to command respect through compassion for others is a disposition I wish I could demonstrate at a teacher.