What does it mean to be a Great Teacher?

I chanced upon this article online and I thought it was very applicable to all aspiring teachers.

http://www.educationrethink.com/2012/08/what-does-it-mean-to-be-great-teacher.html

What does it mean to be a great teacher?

And I'm struck that it is both simpler and more complicated than the view I hear on Twitter and from my district. I'm struck that it is something that takes years to reach. Here's my list:

1. A love for students: Not a sappy love. Not a "I feel bad for them so I will expect less" kind of love, but a real love. A rugged love. An "I love you enough that I won't let you do that to yourself" kind of love.
2. A love for the content: A good teacher not only knows the content, but understands how it relates to life. Sometimes this is a playful geekiness. It's the science teacher that still gets overwhelmed by the beauty of the natural world or the math teacher who still gets giddy over how math solves problems in life. 
3. Solid Pedagogy: I think this piece is often overlooked, especially among nice teachers who manage to do everything well except teaching. However, it's crucial. The strategies themselves need to work. 
4. Intentionality: I think this is sort-of that ability to tune out what doesn't matter (the edu-world's obsession with TPR reports) and focus on the things that matter most.
5. An understanding of motivation: This is the sense of nuance in understanding why intrinsic motivation works, but also understanding the complexity of what drives us to do what we do. It's the ability to see behaviors and habits alongside deep human drives. 
6. Classroom Leadership: I need to know how to develop a community democratically. I need to create an environment of trust. 
7. Execution: There is a tyranny of the urgent that tends to crowd out the important. We get busy. We forget what matters. We dream up lofty ideas. There's something about great teachers that allows them to execute.  
8. Personalization: This includes the ability to craft lessons that relate to students' lives along with listening to what students say about their own education - and still having the ability as the leader in the room to help guide students toward what matters. This also includes things like student-teacher conferences and small groups that provide intervention when students need it.
9. Feedback: I'm still working on making this more efficient and more effective. I feel like great teachers give feedback often in a way that allows students to internalize their own learning. 
10. Humility: When I screw up I want to apologize. When I succeed, I want my students to get the credit. Humility allows me to gain influence without getting arrogant. It allows me to grow professionally without getting to a place where I think I have all the answers.

Source: http://www.educationrethink.com/2012/08/what-does-it-mean-to-be-great-teacher.html

August 10,2012, John Spencer. 

Back to School!

Second week into school, familiarity is setting in.
Now I know which bus to take to the campus and how to get around the massive NTU campus. The first week of school I was at a lost, not knowing which buses to take or where is Lecture Theatre 1.

I've definitely met new friends, people from all walks of life. As my course comprises of post-graduates, I meet people who had a mid-career switch and also people who are fresh graduates like me. But the best thing about being in the PE course is that i meet many like-minded people. People who enjoy playing a variety of sports. In between lessons, there are many people who would stay on to play basketball, volleyball, frisbee, etc.

Although we have many assignments and readings coming up, I know that I have to make full use of this time to enjoy myself, especially with the PE modules.

Articulating random musing in NIE

:)