Starting Off

I think I have been asked the question "What makes a great teacher?" at least a dozen times in the first two weeks of classes. Between Educational Psychology and Intro to Music Education, this seems the be the default first question of the semester. As redundant as it seems, it is a question that is asked for a reason. What really makes a great teacher?

Today in class, Professor Langholz asked us to raise our hands if we have ever had a truly great, influential teacher in our lives. I was shocked to see that so few people raised their hands. I have been privileged to have several awesome teachers in my school career so far. Now if he had asked the question, "Who has had a really awful teacher?" I'm certain that every single hand would have been raised.

Why is that? Why is it that we have an abundance of experiences with poor teachers, but only a small handful with exceptional teachers. Are our standards too high? I don't think so. I think a person knows when someone else has an impact in his life. But why can't all teachers leave a lasting impact? If they did, wouldn't our own lives be that much richer?

So I think this idea proves (for me) to be a good motivation. Why not strive to be that great teacher? I really think I can be one of (hopefully) the many influential teachers that my students have someday.