By themselves, these seven qualities may not be sufficient conditions for teaching excellence, but they may be pretty close to essential

 

                The number seven seems to have magical properties that attract people to it. The universe was created in seven days, according to Genesis, and we now have seven days in a week. There are seven theological an cardinal virtues (faith, hope, charity, prudence, justice, fortitude, temperance). Likewise, there are seven deadly sins (pride, covetousness, lust, anger, gluttony, envy, sloth). The liberal arts of the middle ages numbered seven, chunked into a quadrivium (arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, music) and a trivium (grammar, rhetoric, logic). And today, fortunate faculty members may be granted sabbatical leaves.

 

1. 1.Highly effective teachers care. They care about their students, their work and themselves. They treat others with dignity; they respect others’ integrity. They give high priority to benefitting others. They affirm others’ strengths and beings; it’s a kind of love.

 

1. 2.Highly effective teachers share. They share their knowledge, in sights, and view points with others. Their willingness to share is a way of life for them. They don’t withhold information for personal game.

 

1. 3.Highly effective teachers learn. They continually seek truth and meaning. They seek to discover new ideas and insights. They reflect on their experiences and incorporate the learning into their lives. They are willing to upgrade their skills. They continue growing and developing throughout their lives.

 

1. 4.Highly effective teachers create. They are willing to try the new and untested, to take risks for worthy educational outcomes. Anything worth doing is worth failing at. They are not discouraged by an occasional failure; they reframe the error as an opportunity to do better as a result of the experience.

 

1. 5.Highly effective teachers believe. They have faith in students. They trust students and are willing to grant them freedom and responsibility. They hold high expectations for their students, as well as for themselves.

 

1. 6.Highly effective teachers dream. They have a vision of success. They are driven by an image of excellence, the best that their innate abilities allow. They always seek to improve, never being content with just “getting by“ in teaching or in any other endeavor.

 

1. 7.Highly effective teachers enjoy. Teaching is not just employment to them; it is their work. They throw themselves into it with vigor. They gain major satisfaction and joy from it. And that joy often infects their students.

 

By: Florilyn C. Malit | Master Teacher I | Pantalan Bago Elementary School | Orani, Bataan