What makes a great teacher?

A great teacher is one that’s unforgettable and leaves an impacts on a student’s life. For junior Payton Leo, only one person comes to mind when she considers what truly makes a great teacher: Ms. Utterback.

As Leo was going through her “awkward middle school phase,” as she recalled it, Ms. Utterback was always there for her to help her through personal problems she was facing.

“She was just one of those teachers that asked you how your day was and genuinely cared about the answer,” said Leo. “I know that if I ever need help with anything I can still text her to this day and she’ll be there.”

In addition to being a teacher that was always there for her, Ms. Utterback helped Leo discover what she wanted to do when she’s older. For Leo, she was unsure about what kind of career she wanted in her life. After having the relationship she had with Ms. Utterback, she discovered she wanted to be a teacher when she was older so she would be able to have the same impacting relationships with students of her own.

Although not every student will have quite an impactful experience with a teacher, there’s still other characteristics that make their teachers great. There’s no exact mold that a teacher must fit to be considered a great teacher because a good teacher has more than just credentials and intelligence. What exactly differentiates an okay teacher from a teacher that’s great?

For most students, the teacher needs to be understanding. If the teacher doesn’t even try to understand the student’s point of view and what they’re trying to say then students won’t react positively. Great teachers can easily adapt to different student’s needs and try to help them as much as they can. In addition to being understanding, teachers should treat students with the respect they expect to receive back.

For sophomore Miles Morris, a good teacher is one who respects students despite their personal opinions on them. Morris recalled one of his middle school teachers who didn’t necessarily like him, but the teacher still respected him and gave him fair treatment.

“It’s typical for a teacher to show bias over which students they like and which ones they don’t like,” explained Morris. “But a good teacher will put personal feelings aside and show equal respect.”

A great teacher can also balance having fun with actually getting work done. According to senior Matt Jennings, “No one likes a teacher that doesn’t care at all but then again no one likes a teacher that´s too strict and has no fun.” A great teacher can find the line between making class enjoyable while also staying on topic and being productive.

According to Kids Health, out of 9,000 kids, 33% of them said that the teacher explaining things well and making the subject interesting is what makes a teacher great. Truly great teachers appreciate teaching and make learning enjoyable for students by connecting to them and creating lessons that students can be fully engaged in. Good teachers will take the time to develop lesson plans that shy away from typical hour long lectures.

According to sophomore Sydney Rice, most students determine a teacher’s “greatness” based on how easy or hard of a grader they are. Although she doesn’t think it’s fair, Rice noticed that students often connect a great teacher to one that gives out easy A’s. Teachers that are typically tougher graders might not get the same amount of appreciation from students as teachers who give easy A’s. Half the time, students don’t care about what or how they’re learning as long as they’re getting a good grade.

Not all students will have a meaningful experience with a teacher like Leo did, but a teacher can still be great in different ways. There’s no exact answer as to what makes a good teacher, but instead it’s a combination of different characteristics that all lead to the overall idea of that teacher being a great teacher.