A few years ago I heard about an amazing study in which 25,000 students we asked, “What makes an outstanding teacher?” (OK – I need to clarify that all the articles I have ever read have created a miasma of opinion and data in my head, which I have no problem eschewing as fact and using numbers I sometimes make up in my head.) When the data and verbatim comments were collated, four words stood out from all the others.
(That fact is statistically significant in my head). These four words describe, across year levels, what makes for a great teacher. I will disclose those four words in just a bit. For now, I need to digress slightly.
I am fortunate to have taught students from Year 1 to Year 10 in Australia and in the United States. For the last 22 years, I have taught reading and maths to 5 year olds and commerce and literature to Year 10s, and most of the subjects and year levels in between. I have loved it. I have also been fortunate to raise a Year 12 daughter (she recently finished her WASE exams); a Year 10 son who is bigger, stronger and faster than I and has proclaimed himself the Alpha Male of the family; and a preprimary daughter who has issues with the tooth fairy taking her teeth. What amazes me about how my own kids approach school is their mindset when they first enter a class and their attitude thereafter.
My eldest daughter enters a classroom well-prepared and ready to find out what the professional in the front of the room requires from her in terms of effort, attitude, attendance, aptitude and assessment. She “reads” everything from body language to nuances of language and expectation. Her whole persona is geared toward “what do I need to do to meet the expectations of the teacher in the front of the room?”
My son enters the room missing most of his gear and ready to find out who the other people in his class will be. He looks with wariness at the professional at the front of the room to see if they are talking, and if they are looking at him for an answer. His guard is up; his senses highly attuned to avoiding embarrassment; and his hair covering his “soul” (aka his eyes). His whole persona is geared toward “what will his teacher in front of the room do to get to know me?”
Is this a gender issue? I took my research to the streets and started asking all my kids friends questions about the orientation with
which they walk into a class. I also asked them about the Four Fs.
Interestingly, the overwhelming number of responses (87.6543 percent) mirrored the attitudes described above:
The girls tended to walk into a class saying to themselves, “What do I need to do to get to know what the teacher wants?”
The boys tended to walk into a class saying to themselves, “What is the teacher going to do to get to know me?”
What an enormous difference in perspective, and how important for educators to know:
My daughter will work incredibly hard for a teacher who has been clear in her expectations and is consistent.
My son will work incredibly hard for a teacher who takes the time to get to know what makes him “tick.”
Despite the enormous difference in perspective upon entering a class, my kids perfectly mirror the findings of the 25,000 students studied on what makes an excellent teacher. And again, I subjected their friends to my rigorous data collection, and they, too, matched the findings.
What makes a great teacher for an A student a D student and all the ones in between? Well, it is quite simple. One just needs to follow the 4 Fs.
• Firm
• Fair
• Focused
• Fun
That is correct. Students want clear boundaries that do not change over time. They want fairness even if they are the ones who end up being told “no.” They want teachers who are focused on their subject, on the time they have with students, and the art and craft of teaching. They want their teachers to enjoy what they are doing and to have fun.
I would add an F word to go with these. This comes from my time as a headmaster working with teachers and watching them interact with students of all ages, all abilities and all attitudes. It is fascination. Being fascinated with students’ development, growth and lives is one key to longevity in education and serious engagement in schools and education. Isn’t this the case in your school? The teachers who are fascinated with “What if?” and “What next?” tend to elicit these same questions/responses in students, administrators and colleagues.