What makes a good teacher?

One of my first projects for UVEI was to have a discussion with my class on "What makes a good teacher?"  Fifth graders sure do have a lot to say on that!

I asked the students to think for a minute about what is their idea of a good teacher. What does a good teacher do? How does a good teacher behave? I suggested they think of their past four years in school and what they liked or didn’t like about their teachers, though reminded them we were not discussing specific teachers. Then I asked them to discuss with their table mates and jot down a few ideas. I had them think about what makes a good teacher and what makes a so-so teacher. They went right to work and filled the pages with ideas, even requesting a few extra minutes to brainstorm.

 When everyone was ready I called their attention to the Smartboard in the front of the room for a group discussion and the ideas flowed. Some were quite specific, such as “Punish single people not the whole group,” others were more general, such as “no grouchiness,” and others were just downright silly, such as “let students use a British accent.” One girl in my class does an excellent British accent! My two favorite ideas that came up in the discussion were, “an honest teacher,” and “encourages you to try your hardest.”

A good teacher probably has good Smartboard handwriting as well.  
Clearly I'll have to work on that!

I really liked the think/pair/share process. It gives students a few minutes to gather their thoughts, to discuss in small groups and build confidence, then bring their refined ideas to the larger group. I'll definitely be using that process often.