Teaching Tip #171

Teacherscribe’s Teaching Tip #171

What does it take to be a great teacher?

This was a great read I came across via Twitter a couple of years ago.  I use it often in my Teaching and Learning 250 class at UND.

I also look for it (and see it) all around me at LHS.

The fourth thing it takes to be a great teacher: positivity.

The author writes – “You are positive: Being a positive person, is not an easy task. Being a positive teacher is even harder when we’re always met with problems with very limited solutions. However, staying positive when it’s tough can have such a tremendous positive impact on the students and everyone around us. Looking on the bright side always seems to help make things better.”

I’ve told my classes this for years: Negative people suck.  Avoid them like the plague.

Simply put: life is too damn short to complain all the time.  And I used to be one of the complainers.

Want to know how to find out if someone is negative or not?  Start asking them about other people.

If all they do is talk negatively about everyone you ask them . . . and then never mention anything positive, then you have a negative person on your hands.

Shun them.  Flog them if it is socially acceptable.  Run.  Whatever.  Just don’t let their negativity impact you.

Why is negativity so bad?  It’s a huge limiting belief.  That means it severely limits your worldview.  It starts constricting that comfort zone of yours which you will never try to step out of.  Thus, your chances to impact other positively will be limited.  And, in my experiences anyway, it will inhibit you from doing much of anything on this list that of it takes to be a great teacher.