Teaching is an art. Respectful teachers are not born, they are made. Made by the education system, made by the society and also, by students themselves.

Anybody can be a teacher, but there are some exceptional teachers who stand out from the rest. Sometimes it's our life flow, which teaches us and also, someone else's. In a way, we can say, life itself is a teacher. Definitely, we are all teachers/or is it our life?

It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge. - Albert Einstein

A parent is a teacher, a friend is a teacher, as a sibling, we are a teacher and of course, there is the classroom, where a licensed teacher is legally allowed to teach. A great teacher is always passionate about his/her work. Motivates and encourages students to be useful and successful citizens of the world.

Top qualities of a teacher

1. Good Communicator 

A good communicator is the one who can put across his/her message in a way that is easily understood and is receptive to the other person. 

All great teachers must possess social and emotional skills. A good communicator is born in a social environment. Communication is the basic need for a successful teacher. It helps in imparting knowledge and information to students related to their academics or behavior. Managing students through communication is a great skill in itself. An excellent communicator is also determined by how well students are receiving the context. How well a student is reciprocating to a teacher is also the result of a teacher's communication skills. 

2. Good listener

A good listener is the one who focuses on the speaker and interacts with the speaker through passive conversation, that is, via body language and facial expressions. Also asks follow-up questions.

In order to improve the student-teacher relationship, we need to be a good listeners. As a teacher, it is not only the talking that contributes to success, but also our listening skills. It is needed to develop empathy and understanding with the students. Listening skills help in negotiating with students and diffusing any conflicts. 

     Characteristics of a good listener:

•  Focused:- Distractions don't stand a chance. It also shows respect to the person speaking.  
•  Responsive:- Acknowledge them that you are attentive by your body language and gestures. 
•  Interested:- Being curious is one of the traits of a good listener. Curiosity often makes a person listen carefully and attentively. 
•  Open/Empathetic:- Keeping an open mind while listening doesn't create any blockage by not judging anything prematurely. It is a way to show the sincerity of the listener.
•  Patience:- A good listener doesn't interrupt in between while someone is speaking, rather they wait for them to completely finish and then put forward their conversation.

3. Adaptable 

Adaptability literary means adjusting to new situations or conditions. A person being adaptable, often referred to as flexible, compliant, resilient, or adjustable.

It is one of the skills of a good teacher to adjust and adapt to your teaching techniques, based on the age of students, resources available, practices to be followed, and requirements. Research has shown adaptability may help teachers avoid feelings of disengagement, and also avoid lower job commitment. Adaptable people aren't scared of change, as they make the necessary plans to handle it.

4. Engaging

 The tendency to draw favorable attention or interest on something. Getting involved with things of interest or where attention is needed.

The engaging quality of a teacher supports the idea, of someone who is upfront and gets involved in self-performing, instead of just sitting back and lecturing. At the kindergarten level, it may require a teacher to get down with the students to help them with their activities whereas at the high school level it's all about keeping the lecture interesting by bringing humor to their lessons and being creative.

    Check out the Ways to keep the class interesting:

https://www.thoughtco.com/ways-to-keep-your-class-interesting-4061719

5. Empathy

Empathy is the ability to sense other people's emotions. It is to understand and share other people's feelings.

Empathy, and understanding from a teacher help in maintaining a good relationship between a student and the teacher. An instructor must have the ability to fully understand a student's personal and social situations. Getting to know a student individually, helps to work out issues with the student. Showing empathy and concern is a great way to be a successful teacher. It helps in earning trust and consideration from a student. 

  There are mainly three types of empathy:

  Emotional - Emotional empathy involves feelings, physical sensations, mirror neurons in the brain. This type can be overwhelming sometimes.

"When you feel physically along with the other person, as though their feelings were contagious." - Daniel Goleman

  Cognitive - It is more related to thought, understanding, and intellect. It occurs when a person can imagine himself/herself in the situation of another.

"Simply knowing how the other person feels and what they might be thinking. Sometimes called perspective-taking." - Daniel Goleman

  Compassionate - This type of empathy considers action and is not only defined by intellect and emotion.

"With this kind of empathy, we not only understand a person's predicament and feel with them but are simultaneously moved to help, if needed." - Daniel Goleman

6. Patience

Patience is a person's ability to wait over something without getting frustrated or angry. Being calm and move along with the flow is what being patient is all about.

 As a teacher, we can face situations that are annoying or frustrating, and it can be from the students or their parents. Having patience while handling such situations is the best practice, a teacher can follow.

Case-Study:  

There may be a situation where a class of students, who does not seem to understand the simple common knowledge concepts despite various methods or many repetitions. Now, how do we solve a case like this?

Here comes the power of keeping cool. Having patience becomes an incredibly hard concept to practice in this case. One advantage teachers have is their extensive knowledge of the subject matter they teach.

We need to appreciate the fact that, each student has different levels of aptitude. A good teacher will possess this understanding and will take the time to reach such students who do not display strong aptitudes in certain subjects. Only a teacher with patience can show such attributes of concern.

7. Teamwork

When a group of people performs a task in order to complete it timely and in an efficient manner is called teamwork.

Teachers often give credence to teamwork. Focuses more on working as a team. They believe working as a group collectively helps achieve the goal in a more efficient and timely manner. Teamwork introduces skills which is beneficial later in life while in the workforce. 

   Teamwork involves clear direction, open and honest communication, supports risk-taking and change, roles are defined, mutually accountable, free communication, common goals, encouragement in differences of opinions, trust, and collaboration.

Is teamwork always feasible?

However, working in a group may not always be the appropriate method of practice for some students. There are times when individual work is preferred for some students, mainly for the special needs students. There are students whose progress is slower than others. In these cases, students who fall behind are given special attention and encouraged to progress at their own pace.

And, there are students too, who prefer to work on their own rather than as a team. They believe individual work can get, things are done quickly and without any major conflicts and eventually can take all the credits. 

There are teachers also who don't prefer teamwork, as a person. But, because of the curriculum needs set by the management, they unwillingly follow the rules.

Why do we need teachers?

• They motivate and encourage students to pursue their careers/interests for the development and success as a citizen of the society. Teachers inspire students to do well and succeed in life.
• Gives guidance for growth and knowledge. Motivates us to learn and innovate. Initiates ideas and topics that students otherwise did not come across. Helps to enhance our creativity. Teachers can expand student's limits and push their creativity. They help reveal a student's best skills and teach valuable life skills as well.
• Teachers give us the feeling of caring and generosity. They teach us discipline and effectiveness in our area of study. Science has found, students who have a caring relationship with their teachers are academically more successful and show greater social skills, that is being kind and having helpful behavior.

"Learning gives creativity. Creativity leads to thinking. Thinking provides knowledge. Knowledge makes you great." - A.P.J. Abdul Kalam

Epilogue/Conclusion

Teachers are important members of society. They have the ability to build leaders of the future in the best possible way for society. The power of education is possessed by them and the future of a human lay on their hands. If the youth of the society is educated, then it helps in the development of a country as a whole.