We are in school to learn and achieve great things, to figure out where we want to go in life and learn social skills for the future. As we get older we learn various concepts and choose what classes to take, experiencing a variety of teaching styles. We develop opinions of teachers, passing down who was mean and hearing about who had the easier class, but come to find out some teachers that you like aren’t the teachers others like. Through the years we have many teachers, some better or worse than others, but what really makes a good teacher?

People have done studies as to why some people do better in school, and found not so surprising results. Females learn better from females, and males learn better from males (according to USAToday.com) As we know, most of the teachers are female, though there is a very good portion of male teachers at our high school. The studies show that girls are more likely to go to college and get degrees than boys, possibly due to the larger number of female teachers. There might be some pride in our own genders that makes us learn better by competition. Whatever the reason is, no offense to the guys, but the ladies are in the lead.

Our relationships with others of the same and different gender, however good or bad, will play a large role in finding the teacher amazing or finding them horrible. Attitude reflects leadership, and the way we are raised to treat certain genders in certain ways determines how we will treat our peers/educators. For example if many women, or men, you encounter are unreliable and ignorant in their ways, you might not expect much or have faith in what they are being taught.

There has to be more to what makes a good teacher or a bad one right? Not every student is going to click with the teacher of the same gender, as people know themselves.  There are a variety of factors that play into how we feel towards our educators. Things such as our parental relationships, courses we like and dislike, what we’ve heard about them, first impressions and many more, one of which I will reflect on later in the article. These factors play a large role in how we learn, they just might determine if we learn at all.

Take note that there is always a chance none of the factors play in and you just don’t understand the material, despite a good or bad impression of the teacher. Teachers who make jokes and have fun themselves with the students receive good attitudes when it’s time to get down to business. However,  teachers shouldn’t start out too easy or they will be taken advantage of, and also get a misconception of the students.

If the things we are taught are subjects we find boring in the first place then an exciting, engaging teacher could change the attitude between the teacher and student. Keeping things engaging and fun is a good way to create a positive attitude towards both the subject and teacher. Any personal issues should be left at the door when entering a work place. that way none of the feelings from other sources will dictate how you act towards the people that didn’t do anything to you. Too often do people put their feelings from someone/something else and apply it in a situation inappropriately.

First impression and prior knowledge of the teacher also give the learner insight as to what they “should” feel towards their teacher. I heard and asked about certain teachers before letting them impress me, just so I would have somewhat of an idea as to what I should expect from them. I realize now that I was wrong in listening to others because teachers that I like were the targets of ridicule from my peers. You can listen to others of course, maybe as a guide, but you also have to look at the type of person they are, the type of student they are, to really determine if you want to take their advice seriously or not Teachers should also understand that students inside of a class are not always who they are outside of the class.

Speaking of understanding, that is a part of the one factor I wanted to save for his part of the article: respect. Respect is established over the first few weeks of the school year; however it is also demonstrated and interpreted subconsciously. This demonstration of respect doesn’t always have to be direct, it could be a student witnessing their teacher talking to one of their peers. If the teacher is mocking them, it creates a bad vibe; however if the teacher is laughing with them, it could create a relaxed environment.

However, sometimes the environment is too relaxed and there is no respect to our elders as teachers or towards the future generation as learners. Respect and patience are sometimes ignored in the more common environment. The relationship between student and teacher has changed greatly over the years, making certain actions seemingly appropriate when in fact they aren’t at all.

It’s quite simple to respect each other. You just have to be polite, and maybe take it easy on your students/your teacher. Life is hard; through its journey we will face many challenges at different points. In knowing this, we are also ignorant because we do not know exactly when everyone is going through something. However by being just a little nicer and giving a little more effort you can learn a lot from each other. Teachers shouldn’t make fun of students as much when they mess up; joking or not, it can still hurt if their peers learn that it’s okay to do the same. And students should talk back less and give more in their work if they know they aren’t doing their best.

To me, what really determines what makes a good or bad teacher is the chance they were given, but also how they allowed themselves to be perceived.  In this article I may not have given a ‘how to’ for being a good teacher, or even one on being the worst; anyone reading this has the mind to determine what makes a good teacher.  It’s the easy stuff that we make out to be hard; you just have to recognize your actions and possibly change them in order to get what you want back from that person, regardless if they are a teacher or student.

Disclaimer: Articles designated as “Editorial” represent the views and opinions of the author, not the 2015-2016 Periscope staff, CHS Administration, or the CHS student body.