What makes a good teacher?

"We don't read and write poetry because it's cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for." 

John Keating (Robin Williams) "Dead Poets Society", 1989

"What makes a great teacher is someone who teaches you more than just that subject. They teach you how to be a better person, how to act everyday, and live your life to the fullest. Teachers teach, but great teachers help us learn and live."

~ Brooklyn, 12th grader, Fairfax R-3 – “A Great Teacher is…”

Rather than interview students, parents, or educators to learn about the qualities and characteristics of a good teacher, ed reformers have relied on the wisdom of numerous "experts" with little if any classroom teaching experience.

In a 2009 TED Talk, Bill Gates confidently explained what makes a good teacher...

 “…A top quartile teacher will increase the performance of their class – based on test scores – by over 10 percent in a single year…

What are the characteristics of this top quartile? You might think these must be very senior teachers. And the answer is no. Once somebody has taught for three years their teaching quality does not change thereafter…

Putting a few cameras in the classroom and saying that things are being recorded on an ongoing basis is very practical in all public schools… have it so everyone sees who is the very best at teaching this stuff...

And in fact, these free courses could not only be available just on the Internet, but you could make it so that DVDs were always available, and so anybody who has access to a DVD player can have the very best teachers.

And so by thinking of this as a personnel system, we can do it much better.”

Bill Gates, "Mosquitos, malaria, and education" TED Talk, Februaray 2009

Effective and experienced educators know that good teaching is about building and maintaining individual relationships with their students based on mutual respect and trust.

While Bill Gates and other reformers may believe that a great teacher for every student is just a DVD player away, classroom teachers know that children learn through human interaction and when they have developed an emotional connection with their teachers rather than digital access.

“Unless there is a connection between teacher, student and lesson, learning becomes tiresome to all involved. Veteran educator, James Comer, states that, ‘No significant learning occurs without a significant relationship.’…

Of course, we can do just about anything online, including teaching and learning. But I guess I am just old school. I want to look into your eyes when the answer finally dawns on you.

I want to hear that inflection in your voice when you are angry with me. I want to see the smile on your face when you forgive me. I want to share in the joy when we both realize that we make a good team.”

 Rita Pierson, "WATCH: How A Teacher Encouraged Her Students With An 'F'" 7/3/13

“You know the purpose of the school is not just to raise test scores, or to give children academic learning. The purpose of the school is to give children an experience that will help them grow and develop in ways that they can be successful, in school and as successful adults.

They have to grow in a way that they can take care of themselves, get an education, take care of a family, be responsible citizens of the society and of their community. Now you don’t get that simply by raising test scores.”

 School-By-School Reform: Dr. James P. Comer Interview PBS 2005

Using students’ standardized test scores to measure the quality of teachers is like counting patients’ cavities to evaluate the skills of a dentist or using patients’ blood pressure and cholesterol scores at the end of the year to determine the effectiveness of their doctors.

These tests provide limited information regarding the overall health of the patient and just like a standardized test, they cannot determine the influence and impact of pre-existing conditions, patient behavior, and environmental factors on student performance.

It seems Bill Gates and other reformers have not even considered the possibility that an educator who can train students to get high scores on standardized tests may not be a good teacher.

It is fanciful to suggest that a single score on a standardized test is somehow going to assess the overall effectiveness and quality of a teacher or measure the academic, social, and emotional impact a teacher has had on his or her students and how that will be manifested and revealed in their future endeavors and accomplishments.

While reformers are convinced they are helping to better prepare students for college and careers, recent interviews with CEOs and other executives have revealed a disconnect between Common Core test preparation and employer expectations…

"Respondents said students lack self-awareness, can’t work in teams, have poor critical thinking skills and come up short on creativity…

The fault doesn’t lie entirely with students; some blame must go to the schools that purport to educate them, the report found…

One of the biggest problems executives cited was that schools don’t measure student success with the right metrics. Just 12% of those interviewed said M.B.A. grades actually matter in hiring…

Instead, employers said they’d like to see more assessment of so-called soft skills like the ability to execute a plan, communication and critical thinking."

Business Schools Flunk When CEOs Grade the Test, Melissa Korn, 3/18/14

This same disconnect is evident when reformers continue to claim increased test scores are evidence of college readiness when a recently released report by Harvard Graduate School of Education"s Making Caring Common Project indicates that a growing number of colleges are "rethinking" and "reshaping" the college admissions process to take a much broader and more comprehensive view of student achievement and skills as they "redefine" college readiness beyond standardized test scores.

“In Turning the Tide, we are granting our children permission, space, and time to develop their analytical strength, their empathic and generative selves, and their inner lives of reflection, values, and aspirations. We will reward them by emphasizing depth of commitment over breadth of resume, strength of purpose over multiple application fillers. " 

Turning the Tide: Inspiring Concern for Others and the Common Good through College Admissions, Press Release 1/20/16

It is a mistake to rely so heavily on standardized test scores to predict future performance of students and to draw conclusions regarding the quality of instruction in the classroom.

Determining the effectiveness of a teacher based on student test scores suggests the primary responsibility of a teacher is to train his or her students to take standardized tests and ignores the numerous roles teachers play in the classroom.

Good teachers help every child to “grow” and develop as a healthy human being in diverse and unique ways that can’t be measured by a standardized test including…

Helping an obese child to lose weight by walking with him/her before or after school

Convincing a bully to change his or her ways

Empowering bystanders to become upstanders

Helping a student who is prone to violence to learn to resolve disputes peacefully

Getting a depressed student to eat regular meals by having lunch with him or her

Convincing a student to bring and wear eye glasses each day

Encouraging a student to be more responsible about taking medication each day

Helping a student to understand that racist, sexist, and other prejudiced beliefs are not OK

Inspiring students to lead and serve others through student council or peer mentoring

Education should be about preparing future caregivers, citizens, leaders, problem solvers, decision makers, innovators, teachers, learners, creators, entrepreneurs, designers. developers, risk-takers, change agents, artists, voters and volunteers….not test takers.

Back in 2011, David T. Conley warned in his essay, “Building on the Common Core” about the potential for misuse and misapplication of standardized tests…

“Implemented correctly, the common standards and assessments can vault education over the barrier of low-level test preparation and toward the goal of world-class learning outcomes for all students. Implemented poorly, however, the standards and assessments could result in accountability on steroids, stifling meaningful school improvement nationwide.”

Rather than rely on Bill Gates or scores on a standardized test, what if we were to ask students, what makes a good teacher?…

Students will learn more from good teachers who collect hugs and care about them, than from great teachers who are more concerned with collecting data and comparing them to others.

"One looks back with appreciation to the brilliant teachers, but with gratitude to those who touched our human feelings. The curriculum is so much necessary raw material, but warmth is the vital element for the growing plant and for the soul of the child." 

~ Carl Jung

“Being a good teacher is a lot like being a good gardener. Good gardeners are optimistic and patient. They are able to see the potential in those struggling young seedlings and enjoy watching them grow, develop and bloom. They give special tender loving care to those few plants that are struggling and not thriving.

They don’t blame the plant when it’s not performing well; they check the growing conditions. Is the soil the plant is growing in suitable or does it need amending? Does the plant need more water; does the plant need less water? Does the plant need more sunshine; does the plant need less sunshine. 

Good gardeners are good problem solvers, but realize that sometimes no matter what you do, the plant still will not grow the way you would like it to.”

~ Elona Hartjes, “Good Teachers Are Like Good Gardeners”

A more meaningful measure of teacher effectiveness and quality would be how he or she raises the aspirations and confidence of students rather than how much the teacher raises their standardized test scores.

"I’m clumsy, yeah my head’s a mess Cause you got me growing taller everyday…

But you got me feeling like I’m stepping on buildings, cars and boats I swear I could touch the sky…I’m ten feet tall.

You build me up Make me what I never was…"

~ Afrojack, “Ten Feet Tall”

A standardized assessment measures testable hard skills and will not reveal whether teachers and students possess the social and emotional skills that are essential for good teaching and college/career readiness.

Accountability measures should be more focused on ensuring there is an empathetic teacher in every classroom rather than an effective trainer of standardized test-takers.

As Bruce Cameron wisely said...

“Not everything that counts can be counted,  and not everything that can be counted counts.”