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Ideal teacher: what is he like?
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Few of those engaged in training teachers would conceive of a teacher who would be ideal for all and any teaching circumstances. The art and craft of teaching is so diverse that no such paragon would be likely to exist. What is possible, however, is to conceive of an ideal which is redefined in terms of the particular kinds of teaching situations the teacher actually proposes to engage in. Such an "ideal" teacher would possess personal qualities, technical abilities and professional understanding of the following kinds:
1) Personal qualities. These include both inherent qualities and other qualities acquired through experience, education, or training. Equally, it is obvious that the teacher must be intelligent, have a non-discouraging personality, and display emotional maturity. Among the acquired qualities are to be included a wide experience of life, an adequate level of personal education and sufficient command of the subject he is teaching.
2) Technical abilities. These are of three kinds: first ability to discern and assess the progress and difficulties of his pupils, an unhesitating control of the teaching in his class so as to maximize the role of learning; secondly a fluent and responsive grasp of classroom skills and techniques; and thirdly a "creative familiarity" with the syllabus and materials being used in his classes.
3) Professional understanding. This refers to a sense of perspective that sees the teacher's own particular task in relation to all types of teaching situations, to an awareness of trends and developments in methods of teaching, and to an acceptance that it is in his professional duty to go on improving his professional effectiveness throughout his career.
Assignments:
1. Render the text in English.
2. Say whether you agree with the author's understanding of the importance of teacher's work. Add some other important qualities a good teacher should possess.
33.
(From "The Diary of a Young English Teacher" by Saw Ginsburg)
First Month
Sunday, February, 28
This morning I am not awakened by the buzzing of an alarm clock. I did not set it last night. I wanted to test if I could get up in time for the first period without the alarm clock's help. I look at my watch: 6.10. One hour and twenty minutes till the first bell – time enough and to spare.
I sit up in bed and drowsily recite from memory the little speech I am going to make in class tomorrow morning.
"Good morning, comrades. First of all, allow me to introduce myself– my name is Huang Pan. I am your new English teacher. I have just graduated from the Foreign Languages Department of our university. I have no teaching experience at all and my English is not very good. But I'll do my very best to help you master the English language. If there are any shortcomings in my work, I hope you'll point them out to me...
"The people of China are now working hard to modernize our great motherland. In order to accelerate carrying out this task, we have to learn from the advanced experience of other countries..."
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Third Month
Saturday, May, 1
I'm tired and sleepy, but I want to put down a few thoughts before going to bed.
It's May Day, the first since I became a teacher, I feel happy and excited – it's my own holiday.
This morning I took my students boating in the park. The weather was lovely, and one could not help being in high spirits; the new clothes I was wearing for the occasion probably had something to do with it. Two of my students helped me into a boat. They rowed, insisting that Teacher Hung take it easy and leave everything to them, a suggestion to which Teacher Hung gracefully acceded.
I sat back and gave myself up to the bright sun and the gentle breezes blowing across the lake. While one of the girls rowed, the other began to hum a Taiwan folk song, accompanying herself on a guitar. She had a lovely contralto voice, and the song suited her voice to perfection.
We had lunch in the park, sharing what we had with the others. ц was a gay and noisy meal and we all enjoyed ourselves tremendously. The students were taking good care of me, offering me the choicest morsels. More than once, the thought occurred to me: "How wonderful our young people are!"
We got back to the university around three. I sat down to some reading. The book was "An American Tragedy." I was sleepy, but Theodore Dreiser's great story gripped me as usual, driving away my drowsiness.
Tomorrow is Sunday. I'll make up for the time spent reading and looking about.
Monday, May, 3
Instead of working with the textbook this morning, I have the students talk about the May Day picnic and about Youth Day, which is tomorrow.
To liven up the discussion on Youth Day, I let one group of students enact the role of foreign tourists in China, young women from different English-speaking nations. They ask the other students about their life, work, and studies; the latter in turn ask the "tourists" about youth outside of China.
It all goes fairly well. But I soon discover that our students know very little about foreign youth, and have difficulty therefore in formulating their questions.
Assignment:
Read the three extracts from a diary and
a) say what kind of teacher has written it,
b)what you think about her first speech,
c) in what way she spent May 1,
d) how she organized the lesson on May 3.
GOOD TEACHER
A good teacher:
keeps in contact with the parents of his or her pupilsandlets them participate in the life of the school (in a primary or secondary school);
is able to maintain discipline and order;
lets the students share his or her own life with all its ups and downs;
works hard to remain up-to-date in his or her subject;
openly admits when he or she has made a mistake or does not know something;
is interested in his or her students,asks them about their homes and tries to help where possible;
makes the students work hard and sets high standards;
is friendly and helpful to his or her colleagues;
uses a lot of different materials, equipment and teaching methods and attempts to make his or her lessons interesting;
helps the students become independent and organize their own learning.
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Assignments:
1. Look through the questionnaire and arrange the listed teachers qualities in the order you think most proper. Try to explain why you have done so. Agree or disagree with your groupmates.
2. Read the following quotations and comment on them.
1) Raising a child is very much like building a skyscraper. If the first few stories are out of line, no one will notice. But when the building is 18 or 20 stories high, everyone will see that it tilts.
2) Any man can be a good teacher.
3) Every teacher continues to be a student.
4) The teacher is a model and example to his students.
5) Good teachers are born, not made.
6) Teaching machines and computers can be substitutes for any teacher.
7) Teaching is a two-way traffic.
8) Experience is the best teacher.
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