Timothy Newfields

published in Explorations in Teacher Education: Vol. VI, No. 4, Dec. 1998, (p. 3).

To be a Teacher

Value time. View teaching as a way of discovering. Ask people how and what they want to learn – capitalize on their interests. Discover what others already know before starting to teach. Teach lessons as you would cook – improvising recipes as you go along and with equal concern for nutrition & flavour. . Work for simplicity – strive to boil down each lesson into a few key points. Don't be afraid of mistakes – do take the time to reflect & learn from them. Consider learning activities as building blocks that can be arranged in many ways. Regularly ask yourself, "what is really being taught?" If you can't come up with a clear answer, probably most students can't either. Respect your students. Be disciplined by love. Experiment. Keep classes creative. Focus on top priorities; don't micromanage. Believe in yourself and your students. Teach with passion. Regard teaching as something you love to do, not merely get paid for. If you don't feel excited about what's being taught, do things differently. Encourage students to participate so that they can teach others. Be alert to unexpected opportunities. Encourage excellence – don't force it. Have a life. Get outside of classrooms regularly. Stay fresh. If your energy is low, do things differently. Let your students do the talking much of the time. In your zeal to teach "the lesson" don't forget to teach your students. Covering the material is important – but discovering it even more so.

(Ver. 3 - Jul. 1, 2016)

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