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Any person can enter a classroom, pick up a teacher's manual, and relay the information to the students. However, this
does not qualify someone as an outstanding educator. An outstanding educator requires a passion for teaching, the ability
to be flexible, the gift of patience, and a desire to continue learning.
In order to be an excellent educator, I believe one needs a passion for the profession. A teacher needs to love what
they are doing and freely accept the rewarding feeling that comes with it. A person who has a passion for education will work
their hardest and strive to see the children achieve, not because it shows they have done their job well, but to show that
the children have gained new knowledge and will grow from it. This passion shows through when a child is struggling in a subject
and the teacher works one on one with them, as long as needed, until that student proves they have achieved. An outstanding
educator needs to let this passion be known, and let it shine through in each and every lesson they teach.
Another quality of an outstanding educator is flexibility. I learn this more and more everyday while I am student
teaching. A teacher can come into school for the day with a plan they would like to accomplish. However, rarely will everything
in the plan be completed. An outstanding educator needs to be able to accept and work around the interruptions that occur
throughout the day. In addition, flexibility is key when it comes to teaching the curriculum. A lesson may take longer or
shorter than expected and the teacher needs be able to adjust his or her plans as necessary. Flexibility is an extremely important
quality of an outstanding educator; in our chaotic society today, schedules change every minute.
Not only does an outstanding educator require a passion for the profession and the ability to be flexible, but they
require an immeasurable amount of patience. Children are not expected to come into the classroom every day with the greatest
attitude or in the best mood, and a teacher needs the patience to deal with that. Also, a teacher has to be patient with the
constant changing of schedules and the parents who are unhappy with their child's progress. Most of all, an outstanding educator
requires the patience to work with the students so that they learn to the best of their ability, and grow and mature in the
process.
As an educator, our job is to help the students learn, grow and mature to the greatest extent possible. In order
to best do this, an educator should have the desire to continue learning themselves. Each and every day a teacher learns something
new, and they should always embrace any opportunity to enhance their knowledge. With the issues in education constantly changing,
it is both beneficial to the students and to the district for educators to build their knowledge through continuing education.
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