An Effective Teacher #9

There have been a few effective teachers I have seen, that have been quite successful at what they do. One of them is a teacher I observed and taught a bit fore at Concord Junior High. Mrs. K had been there for a while and was pretty established as a successful Physical Education teacher. Walking into her classroom on the first day, the kids tried to get away with little things. Mrs. K had them quiet and ready for the activity they were going to do in record time. It was as if they knew how they were supposed to act, but they were waiting for the teacher to say something before they did. She had a strong teaching voice and this allowed the kids to know she meant business. However, she joked around with them a lot, got to know them, how sports were going or families. The classes I observed went smoothly (good management). Mrs. K had the respect of those around her as well. There were a total of five teachers who taught other parts of Physical Education during this time and they knew that she was in charge. I believe as an effective teacher, you must be able to maintain the rules and such of your classroom, but also be able to have fun and enjoy what you are doing. If you do not enjoy what you are doing, the passion for your content will not show and the students may begin to feel the same way. In another class, we went around the room and mentioned a teacher who had really affected our reasoning for why we wanted to become teachers. It was interesting that out of about 18 students, five of them said the same teacher. In a college classroom, that is pretty substantial. It was how the teacher presented herself and the content which made learning interesting. These students wanted to be able to do the same for the next generation. That is what I hope to do for my students.