What do great teachers do well? The bottom line is that they refuse to leave any student behind, regardless of the student’s resistance to academic excellence.
Great teachers are relentless in pushing their students to reach their full potential throughout the entire school year. If there is any achievement gap among students within their classroom, highly effective teachers work hard to close these gaps. Such teachers don’t let up on their students, regardless of whether or not students appear to be making progress.
The First Priority
A teacher’s first priority is to apply some form of discipline toward students who display an unwillingness to give their best effort to completing an assignment or project. Such discipline may involve denying free time or minutes off recess time, special classroom events, or a phone call home to parents to inform them of the urgency of the issue. Great teachers never let a child lag behind others without a genuine fight that takes all the effort they can give.
High Achieving Students
Equally as important, a teacher must create a variety of ways to reward those students that display a passion for high achievement. These are the students who are always at the ready. They are first to come to the circle for morning meeting. They participate. They are the ones who complete all their seatwork and grab a book to read in the meantime. Students hungry for knowledge are always looking for what next.
These students must be rewarded. Supplying such redeemable things as tokens, play money, tallies, and other means that show appreciation will go a long way in keeping these students inspired to excel. Pizza parties, tickets to movies or restaurants, extra recess, greater freedom, special fiend trips with rewards should be considered.
Raising the Esteem of Underperformers
Students who desire to do good work but may be weak in certain areas such a math and writing should be encouraged with every sign of improvement. Although such students may not be as enthusiastic as the high achievers within your class, you must convince them that they are just as special as any other students in the classroom. As their esteem rises, they will eventually improve day by day.
The Major Role of Teachers
In the modern day classroom, teachers must play many roles. Motivating students to be all they can be in this increasingly challenging education system must be taken with a sense of urgency if the next generation is going to survive. Studies show that the American education system is in shambles due to lack of highly motivated teachers. If teachers are not passionate about their profession, then students will not fell excited about their pursuit of academic excellence.
Great teachers are in demand. Every child counts. When you as a teacher push your classroom to excel in their academics and appreciate acquiring knowledge, you would have accomplished one of the most honorable things a teacher can ever do.