Many people have reviewed good teaching. Experts have stated their perspectives over the past two decades on good teaching which involves characteristics of ideal teacher. This essay explains my perspective on ideal teacher.
What makes an ideal teacher? Well, there are four competencies teacher should have to be ideal teacher. They are professional competency, pedagogical competency, personality competency, and social competency.
The first competency is professional competency. This professional competency deals with planning, developing material, implementing and evaluating.
Planning is very important in teaching. A professional teacher should have planned his teaching before teaching. He should have arranged instructional plan for certain topics that will be explained to make an effective teaching. Besides, a well-prepared and well-organized teacher is regarded by students.
A professional teacher should also be able to develop material and implement it. Capability to develop the material is significant. Material is very important in the teaching-learning as it is the material that is thought. Students should understand the material and the teacher should be able to be ‘facilitator’ in such way so that students understand the material. To be a good ‘facilitator’, a professional teacher should master the material and be able to implement his teaching. He might implement his teaching by using technology on his explanation in order to get students’ attention. He might also ask thought-provoking questions or present the material clearly on his teaching so that he could be a good facilitator.
Evaluating is also important as every other activity that has to be evaluated to improve the result of the next activity. Students’ works should be observed and evaluated to know whether they are successful or not on their learning. A professional teacher should try his best to arrange a valid, reliable and practice test for his students. A valid, reliable, and practice test is important in evaluating what the students has got during their learning. As teacher evaluates his students’ works, he should also evaluate himself. Reflecting what a teacher has done on teaching-learning activities is needed to improve his capability on teaching. A professional teacher should evaluate himself by knowing his strength and weakness on teaching to improve his capability on teaching.
The second competency is pedagogical competency. Pedagogical competency involves how a teacher should teach his students and treat them. An ideal teacher should know which teaching method is proper for his students and always give feedback to students. After knowing the best method, he should teach step by step according to the method and his planning. Additionally, he should also have the ability to change teaching, if necessary, based on what seems to work and doesn’t work in the class so that the teaching-learning activities is efficient. In teaching, an ideal teacher should not compare one student to the other. Comparing one student to the other will terminate some students’ motivation. Without motivation students will not pay attention and they will not grasp the material. So, it would be good for teacher not to compare his students but to encourage the students to do their best, to help them if they get stuck, and to make them feel clever so that students are comfortable in class.
The third competency is personality competency. Professional and pedagogical competency would not enough to establish teachable classroom climate, which is a climate needed for efficient and effective teaching and learning class. I believe that teachable class is not just related to professional and pedagogical competence, but it is also related to the teacher as a person. Teacher’s personality influences students’ evaluation of their teacher and shape their mood in class.
To create a teachable classroom climate, an ideal teacher should be communicative. Students would be motivated if they had a kind teacher who has good communication skill that allows them to have their opinion without any frightened feeling or pressure.
An ideal teacher is also an enthusiastic, warm, extrovert and discipline teacher who always tells the truth and make the students feel motivated in class. An enthusiastic and extrovert teacher would create teachable climate in class. A discipline personality reflects an ideal teacher. Discipline here involves punctuality and appropriate dressing when a teacher is teaching.
And then, the last thing in the personality competency is sense of humor. An ideal teacher should have sense of humor. It does not mean that a teacher must be humorous all the time, being serious is also important in class. An ideal teacher should know when he should be humorous and when should be serious so that he would not lose his authority among his students. It is important for an ideal teacher to be easy going but firm.
The fourth competency is social competency. Social competency deals with the community surrounding him. A teacher is more than one who teach students to get to know more knowledge. An ideal teacher does not get stuck in the education world but he also has his role in society. He should be a mature person, just like the other people, who interact with other and try to get to know about the world development, such as technology development and the other issues around the world. Knowing something new (new knowledge) will make a teacher have wider perspective about the world. A teacher who has a wide perspective will be respected by his students. A teacher should also appreciate others and not be selfish so that he can socialize and place himself in the society nicely.
To conclude, there are four competencies that make an ideal teacher. They are professional competency, pedagogical competency, personality competency and social competency. First, in professional competency, we can find that an ideal teacher should plan his teaching, develop material, implement the material, and evaluate students and his teaching. Second, through pedagogical competency we can see that an ideal teacher should know how to teach and treat their students. Third, personality competency is important in creating teachable classroom climate. Here, an ideal teacher should have good personality, such as communicative, enthusiastic, warm, extrovert, and easy but firm. And then, the last competency is the social competency where an ideal teacher should be unselfish in society, appreciate others, and get a wider perspective through his social life in society.
Written by Yuanita, Sanata Dharma University
