The Most Important Lessons I've Learned About Teaching

The five most important things I have learned about teaching are as follows:

· I believe that all students are capable of learning. I believe this because I have seen it firsthand. I have seen my teachers educate a student that no one else believed in. I have seen students learn impossible lessons. I have witnessed how important the belief of a teacher in a student is. My teachers' belief in me has made me a better student and in the long run, a better teacher because I know how vital hope and belief is.

· I believe questions are always a good thing. Questions are always good because they help everyone learn. No matter what the subject matter is, questions encourage learning and learning encourages questions. If one student is brave enough to ask a question (no matter how small the question is), there is a big chance that at least one other student had the same question and will benefit from the answer.

· I believe that humbleness is the best quality a teacher can acquire. Throughout my educational career, I have seen many teachers and administration make fools of themselves because they were too prideful to ask for help. These teachers have given out incorrect information about their subject matter or about school activities and have later been publicly corrected. Why not just ask? Humbleness is an extremely important attribute because it helps teachers become better teachers. Humbleness is a quality that is evident in a person from the first time you meet them. Someone that is humble does not have a problem asking for help or admitting they are wrong. This helps students because their teacher can give them the absolute best information possible because they [the teacher] has asked questions and researched.

· I believe that teaching is truly a mission. Teaching is probably the hardest profession one could choose. Teachers have to constantly be good influences on students, deal with angry parents and administrators, and daily grade thousands (slight exaggeration) of papers. Teaching is a true mission. A teacher has to honestly believe in what they are doing every day. A teacher must trust that they are doing something worthwhile and that their students will be better people because they had him/her for a teacher.

· I believe that there are always new things to learn. This particular belief is important to both students and teachers. Students, obviously, always have something to learn from their teachers. Students need to be prepared in every grade so that they can move onward in their studies. Therefore, teachers must be prepared along the way to cover things that previous teachers might have missed. I believe it is incredibly important for teachers to always be learning and researching new things. In my field of English, there are constantly being new books written and new theories in writing to teach. A teacher must always be willing to learn so that his/her students get the very best education possible.