What is a teacher?

What is a teacher? Anything that helps us learn is a teacher. Life is a teacher. YouTube is a teacher. Parents are teachers. Siblings are teachers. My dad likes to say, "Everyone is good for something, even if it is a bad example." That statement shows that everything can be a teacher if we let it. It might teach us something good or something to avoid, but either way, we learn. Aristotle is quoted as saying, "Without pain, we cannot learn." Pain is an excellent teacher!

But what makes a great school teacher? The kind that inspires students to show up as their best selves every day has students working harder than they imagined possible and even gets the students who hate school to want to be in their class. Historically, some have such an astounding knowledge base that students flock to them to learn. Mesmerized by how intelligent that teacher is, their lectures run deep and amaze students. But there is more to these geniuses than their IQ as well. Because there are plenty of incredibly brilliant people who make awful teachers. 

Those geniuses who are also great teachers can distill information so the least knowledgeable in the room understand and build wonder and awe into the scaffolded depths of the topic. Their delivery is engaging and entertaining. I'm thinking of a Neil Tyson DeGrasse type of presenter who is a brilliant astrophysicist with an unmatched ability to simplify complex topics and is a masterful storyteller.

Most great teachers I have worked with at the high school level are smart people who are well-versed in their field. However, what separates great teachers is not how much they know about the content but how they can relate to students. When I hire a teacher, I'm more likely to hire a recent college graduate with a 3.2 GPA and multiple social and leadership activities on their resume than a 4.0 GPA academic. I want someone who worked hard in school and did well in their major but also has a personality, friends, and fun. I also want someone who understands what it is like to struggle to learn. The person who learned naturally and stayed in the library for four years will not understand how to reach the students who struggle to gain traction, may only be in a class because they have to, and are not intrinsically motivated to earn high grades.

Teaching is a science, but like all science, the goal is to always look for unanswered questions and new ideas about old-held beliefs. The science of teaching must evolve with our students, society, and neuroscience. Teaching is also an art, and art is ever-evolving to reach new audiences in new formats. Technology can make our lessons much more engaging and give every student a voice in the class. But there is an art to which technology is best for the desired outcome. Pencil and paper were at one point technological advancements, and sometimes that is still the best resource for students.

The art of teaching is harder to teach than the science of teaching. I can read about how the brain operates, and how best to deliver material to match with how the neurotypical brain functions. But the art is putting that knowledge to use. Our classrooms do not have 30 neurotypical brains all in lock step, fully focused on the material and similarly motivated to learn. The best teachers are able to craft lessons with multiple angles at getting to the end result, with students able to absorb and reproduce their learning through different formats. Some they will struggle with, and that struggle is good. New skills are developed in struggles, and students begin to learn how to learn differently for each class. Preparing for a world language quiz is very different than a math quiz, and wholly different from a literary analysis or persuasive speech.

The best teachers know that routines are helpful, but novelty builds excitement and engagement. Intentional practice with timely feedback while learning builds the most confidence and success. And above all, relationships matter. Kindness, not to be confused with being nice, is paramount. Kindness means support, and that can come as gracious forgiveness or direct critiques. Tough kindness can only be appreciated and useful when trust is built, and the student knows that the teacher believes in them and their future.