All my life so far, I've been pretty much convinced that a good teacher instills in me an interest for the subject she is teaching, makes learning fun, and provides me with an abundance of knowledge, motivation and to some extent, friendship. The teachers I loved most were those who gave me hell in my school work - my English teacher who made us dissect a comprehension passage (especially from those past year 1119 papers!) and analyse the parts bit by bit; my physics teacher who talked (and walked) like a bullet train, sets really high standards and tough questions, but treats all her students like her own children; the list goes on. Teachers make me understand that if I want to achieve anything, I will need to work hard, and teachers can be there to guide - only to guide.
Yet, since starting on my teaching profession, I have learned a new meaning to the phrase "good teacher". He is one who makes learning easy - don't talk too much technical stuff in class, don't ask students any questions, give simple and straight-forward assignments, end the class early. He must also be friendly - just ask him for some extra marks for tests/assignments and he will give them freely (or for a cup of coffee). And most importantly, he must have a record of high passing rates - write two sentences in the final exams and you can get a C at least!
How can I be a good teacher when the new definition of one is so much different from all that I believe in? So what makes a good teacher? I know that, according to the current definition, I do not.
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