February 5th, 2011

So what makes an effective teacher?  Discipline? Knowledge? Care?  These answers may be true but I feel that they have become outdated and perhaps replaced by a new set of standards.  Teachers now need to be aware of the importance of creativity, innovation, and acceptance.  In my opinion, we should be providing students with an opportunity to learn in a variety of different ways.  We should challenge students by including multiple methods of teaching in our lessons.  We should promote creativity as a form of problem solving.  We should be aware of individual differences among students. We should understand that times have changed, today's students have changed, and there is an increasing potential for technology in the classroom.  There are many aspects that make up an effective teacher.  The question is, how can we take these ideas and formulate a teaching philosophy that will be successful in educating students in today's school system?