Some Characteristics of Excellent Teachers - Kantorski

Britt Beil
MUSIC 23241
January 25, 2011

Some Characteristics of Excellent Teachers

               Vincent Kantorski starts the article by saying that all the lists of what it takes to make a teacher excellent won't necessarily make you an excellent teacher, you need to be able to apply the traits in your own way. Teaching is far too complicated to just follow a checklist of qualities. According to Kantorski, you should have a thorough knowledge of the material, be enthusiastic about teaching, maintain good eye contact, listen carefully to students, challenge your students to excel, use a sense of humor appropriately, be very well organized and ask questions that require a higher level of thinking. These qualities all work together to make a good teacher.

               In music it is very crucial that the conductor keeps eye contact with the students so they can feel connected to the music and be on time for all the cues. It is also important for any teacher to maintain eye contact so the students feel comfortable and know that their teacher is truly listening to them. Another important quality that I have seen is when a teacher challenges their students to excel. In high school, my choir teacher would give us homework assignments whenever we couldn't get a certain parts right in a song, the next day if we were still getting it wrong she would make us sing in little quartets until we all got it correct. Singing in quartets was nearly terrifying in high school, so it always motivated us so we would go home and rehearse the music and feel a greater sense of accomplishment.

               Many teachers come into the class and get straight to business and almost never even crack a smile, and most students would say that class is boring. This is why a sense of humor is helpful in the classroom, to keep students involved and entertained and want to come to class. Another very important trait is to ask questions to make students think on a higher level to help them fully understand the subject matter. All of the qualities listed in this article seem to be crucial in becoming an excellent teacher and I can't wait to learn how to apply every aspect in my own professional job. 

Kantorski, Vincent J. Some characteristics of excellent teachers. TRIAD, 73 (1), 40-43