Best Way to Become a Successful Teacher

Everyone wants to be liked, and teachers are no exception. If you’re 0ew to the job, or new to the school, it can be a daunting task trying to earn the acceptance of your new students.

Remember: your job is to teach the students, not to try and gain new friends.

No matter how cool, hip and ‘with it’ you might think you are, you can be sure that your students strongly disagree! Never, ever try to use popular or trendy words or phrases seriously. Adding words such as ‘bling’, ‘dude’, or ‘bangin’ to your vocabulary will only make you look outdated and desperate. However young you are or feel, you are not ‘one of the kids’ and’ it is a real mistake to try to be!

It is clear that a popular, approachable and well-liked teacher is also a good one, and is likely to have much better controlled classes. It isn’t that hard to maintain a professional relationship with your students, while at the same time being open and friendly, by simply taking a genuine interest in each child.

Be aware: young people can spot insincerities instantly, and are unlikely to put up with being patronized any more than an adult would, so never just pretend to be inter­ested!

Regardless of how well-liked you might be by 99 per cent of your stu­dents, there will always be the 1 per cent that simply doesn’t get on with you. It is impossible to get on with everyone! Don’t take it to heart, and also don’t try to force the relationship to improve – you will only end UP alienating that particular student even more. If eventually they decide you’re not that bad after all, they will come to you and make it known.

The most important thing to remember is to be friendly, open and honest with your classes, and the odd joke or silly story doesn’t hurt either. A truly likeable teacher will find that popularity comes to them; they do not need to strive for it.

Top tips for being a successful teacher

• Have a genuine sense of humour and the ability to laugh at your self.
• Have a positive and proactive attitude.
• Be firm but fair and keep rules and guidelines consistent.
• Have high expectations of all your students, and communicate this to them regularly.
• Be rational and non-judgemental: treat all your students equally.
• Have a flexible attitude and be ready to adapt to any situation.