Portrait of the perfect teacher

With Teacher’s Day round the corner, Sonali Bhatia, identifies some of the qualities that make a good teacher.Think back for a minute on the teacher who you remember most fondly, from your school days. Your Science teacher, who brought the subject to life? The music teacher who trained you for an inter-school contest and wouldn’t let you feel nervous about facing a big audience? The art teacher who didn’t let the class laugh at you after you messed up a drawing ...?What was it that made these teachers endearing or memorable? Let’s try to identify and put in words some of those intangible qualities that they possessed.

Unique Gift*Empathy: ‘This teacher understands me.’ Empathy means getting out of your own shoes and into someone else’s. It means really getting under the students’ skin — understanding what each girl or boy in your class is feeling.

Portrait Oil PaintingThat can be difficult, while trying to complete the portion in time for the examinations – but, if you are to rise above being a ‘good’ teacher to becoming a ‘great’ teacher, you need to acquire this quality.

To me, it is the single most important quality in anyone who works with children. (And — in the long run, it may actually help you complete the portion in time, too — a lot of other problems get solved with a bit of empathy!)