Education | Self-Improvement | Life

What Makes A Good Teacher?

Honest Thoughts From A Former Student

We all know a handful of teachers. Truth be told, I’m sure most of us agree that we like only a few of them. Most teachers — like anyone else — don’t treat their profession as a calling. For most, it’s just a job to get by. For some, it’s not even their first choice. Life just went in that direction for some reason.

And teachers have it tough. I don’t blame them. Most kids hate school, and they blame their teachers for it.

If you’re a teacher reading this, please continue reading. It is you I have this message for.

Education is the first step in growing up

Teachers are at the front of our path to becoming adults. Our parents teach us how to walk and talk, but things like common courtesy and respect are mostly learned in school, together with algebra, history, and physics. Or at least, we are meant to pick these qualities up in school.

But when puberty hits, that’s when children get most difficult to control. Most teachers follow their plans, collect their prepared materials, issue tests and explain new lessons to dozens of children every day. These children are often loud, don’t do their homework, don’t listen and show no respect.

There is one teacher in my life who I admire to this day (I’m about to hit 30 in a few weeks) for all he has done for me.

Intimidating, yet just and compassionate

That’s how I’d describe the one man who saved me from missing my last chance at redemption.

I sucked at school.

In primary school, my class teacher — the principal of the school I went to — loved me. He’d call me “professor” because I’d answer any and all math questions in the blink of an eye. Primary school was easy. But high school, on the other hand, was a mess.

That’s when kids start all the bad stuff. Smoking, drugs, alcohol, bullying, or simply not showing up at school.

I was one of them. Not involved with drugs, though I started smoking, got bullied and at one point had accumulated more than 150 missed hours of class. You want to know why?

School sucked. The bullying sucked. Always being tired in class sucked. Not being able to keep up with stuff sucked. Being laughed at for not knowing the answers to the simplest stuff sucked. Looking like a complete idiot sucked.

My high school years were a rollercoaster of ‘suck’

By the time 8th grade ended, my grades went into the basement. I’ve missed many school days simply because I didn’t care to go anymore. Why would I want to? Another day of being made fun of? Another day where my teachers show me how few f**ks they give about me? I had given up on myself. But they did too. And from my current point of view, that makes them the worst teachers I could think of.

I was never impolite to my teachers. I’d just sleep in class. Probably because I had a shitty diet and not enough sleep. So I felt like the whole world was kicking my butt and no one cares. My parents got angry with me for not going to school, which caused all the usual puberty drama. “You’re not my boss!”, “as long as you live under my roof…” etc.

During that time, I even made up my mind about joining the military. “Don’t need grades for that, they take almost anyone.” That was my mantra.

And there was one teacher who freaked me out. Yes. That intimidating guy. Mid 30’s, almost bald with a buzzcut, glasses, clean stubble beard, earrings, always looking stern and confident. He looked more like a Hells Angel than a teacher.

Behind a rough appearance…

His family name was “Rauhut”, which in German sounds similar to “rough hat”. For kids, that was like an indicator. Don’t f**k with that guy.

When we had our break on the school grounds, some of us would leave the vicinity (No-Go) to smoke behind the gymnasium (Big No-Go).

Other teachers, when they discovered us and caught us red-handed, would often let us go with a warning. Not so this man. Corporate punishment. Cleaning the school grounds entirely from trash for a full week during each and every break.

He was intimidating. He’d raise his voice at us. He’d look like he’d slap us any minute. I avoided him where I could.

Until I failed 8th grade and was forced to repeat a year. It was the best thing that could have happened to me.

…lies a soft soul

I was put into a new class. And guess who of all people was the class teacher of the class I got put into? Right. Him.

And I can now say, full of pride and respect, that this man is the best teacher to ever walk this earth.

What has changed?

It turns out, that his rough and intimidating way has a purpose. I don’t think I need to explain is, as we should understand the necessity of discipline. But as a teenager, that concept didn’t hold much meaning to me.

While my old class was full of bullies and smaller groups who’d keep to themselves, this class I found myself in now, showed strong unity and commitment to work together. There was no separation within the class.

He made it clear from the start that he’s strict and doesn’t bullsh*t around. He doesn’t have time for that and expects due respect. But he quickly continued by saying he’d show me the same respect in return. We’re all adults. We all have a common goal. And we all want to give it our best. He’d be strict, but he’d also be fair. If we have a problem, he’ll listen. No matter what. Struggles at home, bullying, worries. He’d take the time and listen to our every plea.

No bullying on his watch. Ever.

Somehow, my new class teacher learned of some bullies who’d still pick at me during breaks on the school grounds. One of my new classmates must have tipped him off, as I didn’t have the courage to speak up myself.

One day he came running, grabbed them by the arm, yelling like a drill instructor in his prime, would drag them into the middle of the school grounds and surrounded by the whole school, discipline them. He ridiculed their despicable behavior, forced them to apologize openly and told them that if they’d ever do it again, the consequences would be so much worse. It was a 10-minute rant that scared the kids sh*tless.

They never did. Not in school, and not outside of it. They’d just ignore me altogether.

That was the first time someone stood up for me. The first time I really felt like a teacher would care for me personally.

And that wasn’t even all.

Saving (Salvaging) my grades

He also somehow learned that I planned to not even finish school. I just wanted to quit and head directly for the military. He took me to a one on one counseling and talked about my future.

He urged me to do my best, collect good grades and finish until I get my diploma. I can still join the military afterward, but I should not quit this chance. And it worked. I started blooming up again, became more active and started to involve myself more and more into the activities.

My new class was free of bullying. They’d even stand up for each other if a teacher seemed to do injustice to one of us.

And finally, in our last year, we went to a military barracks for a day trip. Given that the military isn’t exactly a popular career path and I’m the only one in class who mentioned such a goal (as part of my “I’m gonna drop out from school” mantra), I still can’t let go of the thought that he did that especially for me.

A good teacher teaches more than knowledge

And that is my bottom line. In my opinion, a good teacher cares. From his or her heart. Unfortunately, I can’t say that from many teachers, but I hope that there are many teachers like this out there.

You have a taxing job. It’s tough. You’re underpaid. But you have so much more responsibility than you might know or see. You can be the difference between failure and success for each kid. You can become the last chance for a teenager to redeem themselves.

Be strict. Be an a**. But also, be compassionate. Be just. Be there for these kids. If someone struggles, don’t give up on them. Give them hope instead. You might not immediately see it, but you could be their lifeline.

And if you see bullying, please don’t look away. Stop it dead in its tracks.

“The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.” — William Arthur Ward

Kevin is an editor and writer for the ILLUMINATION publication. Follow him on Twitter and LinkedIn.