What makes a teacher great?

I believe a teacher becomes a favourite of many students because the teacher tried to look at themselves in their students place. If a teacher self acclaim as superior and just wants to finish the subject, only the rank holders would still be remembering them, rest forget as years go by.

A teacher has gone through the same phase once when he or she was a student. A teacher knows when something feels uninterested and when something needs to be stopped based on the response of students. If you are not a good observer as a teacher, you failed at that moment itself.

I will take my mother as an example. My mom is a retired headmistress who was teaching Mathematics in her teaching career. Now, mathematics is the one subject which the majority fear and run away including myself. She was a tough and strict mom at home, but to her students she was their beloved sharada(name of my mother) teacher.

Why did my mom become beloved and how did I know?

During the holidays, mom used to take me to her school since there was no one at home. I was a CBSE student and my off days were different from the state syllabus, mom was a state school teacher. Whenever I visit her school, a bunch of kids would come to the staffroom and smile at me. They wanted to see their favourite teacher’s daughter, that’s the murmur I heard.

How did she become beloved?

I have seen my mom do craftworks in the night, preparing shapes using hard objects or cardboard like a school project she was doing. When I used to ask what this was for, she said tomorrow I need to teach about the shapes and its area. Kids love when they are in curious mode and some objects are in front of them. Mom knows exactly what can make Mathematics interesting to students.

As a teacher she was doing her homework as well. So a teacher who gives homework and does theirs can become a great teacher one day.

I have also had teachers who understood their students well and we then daily wait for their class alone. It is a talent and not everyone can master it.