Steele Thoughts About Great Teachers

Danny Steele is taking a little Twitter break to prepare for the start of school, so I thought I would take a few thoughts from one of his blog posts and elaborate on them.  If you are a first-year teacher, there is much wisdom here.  If you are a veteran teacher, these are good reminders.

1. Great teachers don't always have the best lessons, but they always have the best relationships with students.  The first time I read this, I balked at it a bit.  The current climate of education on twitter is one that really de-values quality instruction.  As a person who has spent the past twenty years striving to improve the quality of instruction, this bothers me.  Taking all of @SteeleThoughts into account, however, I recognize that he doesn't undervalue the time his teachers take in preparing good lessons.  The keyword here is "always."  Great teachers don't ALWAYS have the best lessons.  They have bad days.  The good news is that if you have a good relationship with your students, they'll forgive you for it.  You can redeem a bad day if you have a good relationship.

2.  Great teachers understand the power of human connection, so they are relentless about building relationships, even about connecting with the knuckleheads.    You are going to teach students who are like you.  You are going to teach students who are not like you.  You are going to teach students who don't like you.  And the secret teachers don't like to admit, you are going to teach students you don't like.  It's part of being a human being, and it is okay.  The best ways to overcome it involve prayer and looking for anything that will allow you to appreciate something about that student.

3.  Great teachers will spend some time during the summer thinking about how they can improve their lessons next year.  It's just what they do.  This one caused quite a stir last summer when it was originally tweeted.  A lot of teachers thought he was implying they were bad teachers if they got some rest during the summer.    This was in no way what he was trying to convey.  He was acknowledging the truth that teachers do think about school during the summer.  They read about their subject matter or the best educational practices.  They reflect on what worked and what didn't last year.  When he said, "it's just what they do," he was acknowledging the passion of the people he sees, not prescribing a daily activity.

4.  Great teachers look past the bad attitude.  They realize there is always something else going on.  Most people want to get along, and that includes students.  They aren't usually looking for ways to make their own lives difficult.  If they are, however, it is usually because of something going on in their life or in their own heart.  If you think back to adolescence, you might remember how confusing it was.  The hormones in your brain are making it hard to see past your own nose.  Now, imagine if you had also had the pressure of social media hanging over you (I'm so glad I didn't).  Some of your students also have difficult family situations and are moved back and forth from one home to another each week.  Some are hungry, and some haven't slept well.  These are all things that influence attitude.  It doesn't mean that you don't hold students accountable for bad behavior; that's your responsibility as a teacher.  It does mean, however, that you can do it with some compassion, recognizing that it doesn't define the student.

5.  Great teachers did not become great by accident.  They became great because they made a decision that good wasn't enough.   This is the most important one.  No one is born great at what they do, teaching or otherwise.  It requires learning, which means you have to be teachable.  It requires time, which means you have to be patient.  It requires energy, which means you have to be diligent.  It requires asking lots of questions, which means you have to be humble.  It can be done, and you can do it.  Have a great year.