COMPASSION, EMPATHY, INSPIRATIONAL AND OBSERVATION SKILLS

What makes a teacher great?

Today’s topic is an interesting one for me, both for my experience of good teachers and mentors and the experience of having been a student teacher on teaching rounds.

I have great memories of good teachers throughout my lifetime. The most memorable was Mr Guppy my year 9 social studies teacher who recognised my writing ✍️ talent and met with my parents to discuss my talent and the fact he thought I needed to go to a different high school in the area, where my talents would be nurtured. To say he altered the course of my life, would be an understatement. I have him to thank for the direction 🙏 that my life has taken. I vividly remember one of his classes when he had written on the blackboard the lyrics to the John Lennon song 🎵 “Imagine ” and asked us to reflect what those words meant to us. He was nothing short of inspirational, with compassion and empathy and had a knack for fostering talent.

Straight out of high school I did 2 years of a primary teaching degree and majored in children’s literature. I really struggled with this at the time ⏲️ because of other stressful things happening in my life. One of my lecturers commented that I had excellent observation skills and a knack for expressing myself well in writing ✍️. I always knew that one day I would be an author and writer 😀.

I had some great lecturers when I studied welfare studies, people who were role models for me of how to use your experiences to help and benefit other people.

The best teachers I have had are those whom can foster talent have compassion and empathy and havev great powers of observation.