Billy McKinney
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I'll add the ability to implant or transfer really rich pictures and feels in the students' heads. Communication can come in many forms.
Best Teachers
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aaron_lohan
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The ability to take a really complex piece of instruction and teach it in a very simple way.
The ability and willingness to learn
Not to be devoutly wedded to an idea or concept
The ability and willingness to learn
Not to be devoutly wedded to an idea or concept
That's the thing, Wuls, I'm just not sure.
I know a couple of guys who are, to all intents and purposes great teachers and their lives are very orderly. They employ moral absolutism as opposed to relativism and their interests seem very locked in; no loose ends, no scruffiness.
I'm wondering if the kind of mind it takes to truly unravel the mysteries of the swing is composed of the aforementioned traits, OR, working on the concept that it takes a thief to catch a thief a more cluttered, unkempt mind would be the best for a trailblazing teacher: a mind that relishes turning round unknown corners, a mind that is excited by mystery, a mind that tugs at loose ends to see what happens when things unravel.
I'm loathe to stereotype but I think the latter is a better bid for that of a teacher, but I could be talking bollocks...I just don't know. Probably a hybrid of the two is more useful.
Jared Willerson
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Eccentrics always blaze new trails and figure out new ways of doing things. The best teachers are usually a touch eccentric. IMO. These types of teachers adapt well and understand that what worked 10 years ago will not translate today. These types of teachers can be successful and communicate for a long time.
Dogmatic rule followers also have their place, simply because quite a number of people don't want to know how deep the rabbit hole goes. Orderly minded souls can be good teachers too, just in a different way. These types of teachers are good for a certain generation or two but can be unwilling to adapt to new things. A lot of times they retire bitter.
Working in a High School with lots of different teachers it's always fun to see which types of students enjoy certain styles of teachers.
Dogmatic rule followers also have their place, simply because quite a number of people don't want to know how deep the rabbit hole goes. Orderly minded souls can be good teachers too, just in a different way. These types of teachers are good for a certain generation or two but can be unwilling to adapt to new things. A lot of times they retire bitter.
Working in a High School with lots of different teachers it's always fun to see which types of students enjoy certain styles of teachers.
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this thread is inspiring, thanks for all the excellent posts.
drewyallop
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No doubt Oliver. Intelligence and an inquiring and eclectic mind works for most professions.
faux_maestro
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If somebody shows up hitting it awful and they leave hitting it great, you were the best teacher in the world for that hour. Just like they don't care how you shot what you shot, it really doesn't matter what personality type you are or method you use, it's all about getting results. And I guarantee this: if you keep getting results, there will be someone next hour to teach also.
As a teacher of 44 years and counting, here are my views: The best teachers
1. are excited and animated when they teach. That passion is contagious.
2. love their students.
3. have empathy for their students. A great teacher doesn't just *know* what his students are feeling. He/she *feels* it. This enables a teacher to "start where the students are."
4. have tremendous communication skills and will try anything. Different students learn in different ways.
5. Of course have the requisite knowledge. However this comes last because all the knowledge means nothing if the first four items on my list are missing. We've all had genius teachers and professors who bore everyone to tears.
I teach Advanced Placement U.S. History and Psychology in a NYC high school. Every day we dramatize the most important point in the lesson. Why? Because it burns the point across and because it's fun!
In golf terms, we know that Brian embodies all of these traits. That's why he will still teach a high handicapper like me, as well as David Toms.
As for commonalities among the teachers on this forum, is there anyone else who is the biggest sports freak in his state and the greatest lover of blues music?
gumper
1. are excited and animated when they teach. That passion is contagious.
2. love their students.
3. have empathy for their students. A great teacher doesn't just *know* what his students are feeling. He/she *feels* it. This enables a teacher to "start where the students are."
4. have tremendous communication skills and will try anything. Different students learn in different ways.
5. Of course have the requisite knowledge. However this comes last because all the knowledge means nothing if the first four items on my list are missing. We've all had genius teachers and professors who bore everyone to tears.
I teach Advanced Placement U.S. History and Psychology in a NYC high school. Every day we dramatize the most important point in the lesson. Why? Because it burns the point across and because it's fun!
In golf terms, we know that Brian embodies all of these traits. That's why he will still teach a high handicapper like me, as well as David Toms.
As for commonalities among the teachers on this forum, is there anyone else who is the biggest sports freak in his state and the greatest lover of blues music?
gumper
Of course. That much is a given. Just trying to peer behind the veil of a good teacher a little bit
Yes sir, I understand. But to determine the traits of a good teacher, one would need to find a cross section of "good teachers." And that my friend would be a project in and of itself. A much bigger one than identifying what makes them good/great me thinks... I have a long standing disagreement with teacher recognition and the criteria used for such.
Certainly I share your justifiable scepticism where teacher recognition is concerned, but implicit (or perhaps not!) in my musings was the acknowledgment that we can all count at least five or six teachers we'd tip our hat to - just the guys within Brian's immediate sphere of influence would do for starters, and, by extension countless others, yourself included DCgolf.
Whether that would make a superior cross-section of teachers is debatable, but it must be a reasonable starting point, don't you think?
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Never thought you were trying to derail anything. I love reading your stuff.
BTW. I've emptied out the bin. Sorry about that. Looking forward to corresponding
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