The best teachers

Status
Not open for further replies.
lia41985

lia41985

New member
What makes a teacher the "best" in his or her field of education?

I submit that the best teachers don't seek to be the best teachers.

Their goal is different.

They try to be the best students they can be.

In doing so they become wonderful instructors.

It's that sense of sympathy and compassion you have with your "student" that makes a teacher one of the "best."

The sympathy and compassion comes from relating to the "student" as a "student" because you are learning right along with him or her.

You're willing to take part in a journey together.

Obviously difficult to do that in a 45 student classroom in the 5th grade...
 
W

wulsy

New
Interesting question, but I respectfully disagree with your hypothesis. I think the best teachers are so far above their students that they have difficulty relating to all but the best of them.

But they may have a humanity, a desire and willingness to help, that allows them to avoid the disdain that could arise out of this greater knowledge and ability.
 
lia41985

lia41985

New member
Wulsy,
How dare you state there are multiple paths to greatness! Just kidding, of course. Thanks for your thoughts. I agree that's another path. Many paths, not a path. Everyone is different.

We've all learned from a teacher. We all have something to share regarding what we thought were the qualities exemplified by our best teachers. And I don't just mean in the academic sense. Of course not. Parents, coaches, parishioners, etc. are all people we learn from. Hopefully we can learn from everyone. That, I feel, is the ultimate in humanity, humility, respect, and compassion. A very righteous path, indeed.
 
B

Billy McKinney

New
It's not just explaining or demonstrating that makes a good teacher. A good teacher finds the learning 'Sweet spot' for each student, then tries to keep pushing their comfort zone toward competitive reliability by creating context.
Less good teachers create the 'Illusion of Competence', which is more frustrating than 'Doubt'...creating a huge industry for sports psychologists (and bartenders).
#Random Practice#Desirable Difficulties#Spacing#Create Context#External Foci#Inspiration
 
natep

natep

New
You could be an elite student and an atrocious teacher.

Teaching requires a completely different skill set.

Sympathy and compassion aren't enough to carry you if you don't know what you're doing.

That said, I'm sure good students tend to make better teachers than bad students, on average.
 
Last edited:
Erik_K

Erik_K

New
lia41985 said:
What's necessary? What's sufficient? In regards to being one of the best teachers.
Click to expand...

Good teachers do the following:

They keep their audience in mind. Are you addressing a room of experts, or a room of people who don't know as much as you do?

They aren't afraid to try a number of approaches to drive the point home. Good instructors often leave their own 'comfort zone' in order get the point across

They try their level best to have their students come away knowing/performing better compared to when they first entered the room/gym/course

To the above point, they are obviously goal oriented individuals and it is OK to have small goals where modest improvement is acceptable after a single talk/session/workshop. But one must also realize that "Rome wasn't built in a day," and neither is classic golf swing

They seek some active feedback mechanism so they know if their students are responding affirmatively. For people like Brian/Kevin/Eric etc, they simply watch the flight of the ball or listen to the sound at impact (or maybe some other metric displayed via Trackman)

I always thought the best instructors were upbeat, positive, and truly love what they do. My worst professors were the ones who seemed rather detached from class

Good instructors pour it on and challenge their students

Erik
 
D

DCgolf

New
lia41985 said:
What makes a teacher the "best" in his or her field of education?

I submit that the best teachers don't seek to be the best teachers.

Their goal is different.

They try to be the best students they can be.

In doing so they become wonderful instructors.

It's that sense of sympathy and compassion you have with your "student" that makes a teacher one of the "best."

The sympathy and compassion comes from relating to the "student" as a "student" because you are learning right along with him or her.

You're willing to take part in a journey together.

Obviously difficult to do that in a 45 student classroom in the 5th grade...
Click to expand...

Know it in its complexity and teach it in its simplicity; Empathy for the students basic humanity. The person you are teaching is way more important than whatever you are teaching them Only those who love the craft will continue to explore it's depth, those who approach it on a more superficial level will never improve, but they're OK with that. Teaching golf is in my DNA and I hope :) that comes thru in my lessons. One more thought: Teaching is high energy acting, every lesson you need to put on a stage show; when they see you eminate that kind of enthusiasm, they get jacked as well. I train teachers so I could on with this topic, but that that's my first thought
 
W

wulsy

New
DCgolf said:
Know it in its complexity and teach it in its simplicity; Empathy for the students basic humanity. The person you are teaching is way more important than whatever you are teaching them Only those who love the craft will continue to explore it's depth, those who approach it on a more superficial level will never improve, but they're OK with that. Teaching golf is in my DNA and I hope :) that comes thru in my lessons. One more thought: Teaching is high energy acting, every lesson you need to put on a stage show; when they see you eminate that kind of enthusiasm, they get jacked as well. I train teachers so I could on with this topic, but that that's my first thought
Click to expand...

Sounds a tad romantic. Does this still come through with some "monkey boy rich tit know it all I've got more money than you and my 4th wife is a 44DD size 8 nymphomanic" type of guy who's your last lesson of the day at 7pm whne you started at 9? ;)
 
D

DCgolf

New
wulsy said:
Sounds a tad romantic. Does this still come through with some "monkey boy rich tit know it all I've got more money than you and my 4th wife is a 44DD size 8 nymphomanic" type of guy who's your last lesson of the day at 7pm whne you started at 9? ;)
Click to expand...

I dug ditches for a while, washed dishes, sold weed, drove a truck, shined member shoes, double bagged, bar tended, deliverd papers at 3 AM, and tried to sell tupperware...so MR know it all who wasted 10K on the 44DDs aint so bad...
 
D

DCgolf

New
ZAP said:
Sometimes teaching excellence depends on how receptive the student is.
Click to expand...

True but...teaching INCLUDES getting them receptive. Often the toughest part is working with the personality and learning style. They are all receptive if you learn to play their game. First guy today was pretty drunk, second was mostly handicapped, third had never played before and fourth was a mini tour play player. Had to strap on the teaching shoes today.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top