The role of teachers is to provide the best education possible for future generations. But to accomplish this, they themselves must also acquire the proper training and teaching skills to help their students learn and succeed. Here are some ways you can become a better teacher:
1. Take care of yourself.
How will you provide your students with the best education possible if you cannot take care of yourself? Your students depend on you, and they need you to be healthy and live a healthy lifestyle. Make sure to set aside time to de-stress, relax, eat healthy food, and take care of yourself both physically and mentally. It can get very easy to ignore ourselves in the busy lives we lead, but neglecting ourselves will only result in us getting sick.
2. Be vigilant about self-reflection.
Introspection and self-reflection are important tools in our quest to better ourselves every day. Take a few minutes at the end of every day, meditate, and keep a journal. These methods can prepare you for future situations and also help you unwind and relax your mind. It is important to turn self-reflection into a regular, if not daily, habit.
3. Accentuate the positive.
Always stay positive with your students. Constant criticism and unwarranted negative feedback will only hamper their studies and performance in school. It only makes sense that they will be better students if they are less stressed, calm, and motivated for success. Therefore, praise and positive reinforcement are key to keeping up student morale. These will also result in hard work and better behavior. A typical rule to follow when it comes to balancing praise and criticism is 5:1. For every one instance of criticism, five instances of praise should be provided to keep their spirits up.
4. Ask for help.
It is often said that teaching is a lonely job. The stereotypes of the overworked, underpaid teacher who can hardly make time for their own personal lives are real. Between meetings, classes, checking assignments, and trying to maintain a healthy personal life, the teaching profession can result in burnout pretty fast.
It is important to determine when you need help. You should ask for help as often as you need it. You can get a teaching assistant (TA) if you cannot handle other tasks. You can also give your students more freedom to perform tasks on their own. This can be done in multiple ways.
5. Learn another language.
In today’s globalized, diverse world, it is commonplace to run into classrooms with a more diverse student body who speaks another language with their families at home. You can attend language workshops for teachers. Also, there are numerous online resources and apps such as Duolingo, Rosetta Stone, Google Translate. These can help you learn a second language to help you understand the needs of students who are learning English as a second language. Learning a second language will also help you bond more with these students and make you seem more approachable to them, which in turn will help them fit in better.
