2010 Secondary Class 1 Trainee 7 - Kate

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Insight, Passion, and Expertise:

What Are Outstanding Teachers Like?

By Na-Young Koo #07 C1

“A teacher who is attempting to teach without inspiring the pupil with a desire

to learn is hammering on cold iron.” -Horace Mann, American educator

Most of us have been fortunate to study under amazing and

inspirational teachers. For myself, Andrew, my college English literature

professor has played a great role as my mentor and helped me live with full of

confidence and challenge. When I was younger, I used to feel inferior to others when

it came to language learning. This also included my native language Korean. I was

afraid of speaking and writing because I often felt overly conscious of the way people

looked at me. This made me always hesitate to share my thoughts and feelings with

others. I lacked in my time to adequately practice the language and I eventually lost

confidence. Fortunately, I encountered a living miracle through my teacher Andrew.

He helped me to get through all my fear of expressing myself. He noticed and pulled

out my potential by motivating me with compliments. He was also eager to develop

my capability with encouragement. In addition, he was so knowledgeable in his field

of study that he could easily satisfy all my curiosities. Thanks to Andrew, I am no

longer afraid of saying and writing what I am thinking. More importantly, he

encouraged me to reflect upon the question, “What makes a great teacher?” Today,

just like Andrew, I also teach English and try to answer this question everyday

through my teaching. To my students who have difficulty learning English, I want to

be another Andrew. In this essay, I will discuss three qualifications necessary to

becoming an outstanding teacher: insight into students’ potential, a passion toward

education, and expertise in their fields.



First, great teachers have sharp insight to discover and develop students’

infinite inner potential. It is hard for common people to find out their own talent. They

may get frustrated when they feel they have no talent. Teachers should be able to

understand each learner to the fullest and encourage them to get confident in

themselves. I once heard that students were like stones. Thus, teachers have to

recognize their possibilities through long-term observation and help them turn into

valuable jewels. Andrew noticed that I was scared of exposing myself to others. He

skillfully drew out my inner voice by giving me assignments that forced me to speak

my mind on things. He did not criticize me when I attempted, but generously praised

me for my contributions and respected my opinions. Sometimes he appreciated my

creative idea and was willing to share it with the whole class. That always made me

proud of myself and persuaded me to try harder. As a teacher now, I try to follow in

his footsteps and encourage my students to discover their own talents.

Secondly, respected educators are passionate all the time no matter what they

do. They devote their time and energy gladly to education and their students. They

never give up learning for themselves and teaching people because those are joys for

them. If instructors stop learning new things or give up teaching pupils because of

their poor learning ability, they will stop learning and give up as well. Educators must

be good models for learners by showing their true passion toward learning. My

compass, Andrew, also was enthusiastic about studying to improve himself as well as

his students. He never gave up assisting each of us in following his class. Every time I

had a hard time understanding his lecture, he set his free time aside for my

consultation. It has inspired me as a teacher to have responsibility for my teaching

duty and to sacrifice myself for the benefit of my students. Also, I want my students

to remember me as an avid teacher who is keen on taking care of students.



Thirdly, exceptional teachers are experts who have deep and broad knowledge

of their field. They continue studying to develop their competence and accumulate

knowledge to provide people with accurate, updated, and high-quality education. Not

surprisingly, this kind of professionalism properly prepares teachers to educate their

students without any problems. Professional educators are receptive to new things

and try to figure out the most effective way to deliver what they know to learners. My

former teacher, Andrew, also did a lot of self study. He immersed himself in research

day and night while trying to present a thesis at the conferences and creating new

hand-outs every semester for his class. He was a good role model for me and his

memory as an exemplary educator stimulates me to study harder for my students. In

order that I become an outstanding educator, I strive to be an expert in English

education. For instance, I often volunteer to take more than one workshop for English

teachers during vacations and keep updated on recent methodologies for innovative

English classes. Not too long ago, I promised myself never to stop improving my

specialty and to this day I am still working on this.

As one of the many proud teachers in Korea, I am eager to be an outstanding

educator so that I can have a positive influence on my students and remain a

proactive mentor in their lives. “What makes us great educators?” is a question that I

will ask myself till the day I retire from teaching. Along the way, I have discovered

one answer from my first mentor, Andrew. He taught me great educators should be

insightful enough to discover people’s talent, enthusiastic enough to help them out,

and intelligent enough to fulfill their intellectual desire. Like Andrew, all the teachers

should keep those three important characteristics of great teachers in their minds and

stick to them. If so, we can encourage our students to keep learning and inspire them

to realize their dreams. According to Horace Mann’s quote I mentioned earlier in this

essay, the ultimate goal for teachers is taking our “cold iron” students and



transforming them into molten hot metal which can become anything they want to

be. This certainly is my goal as a teacher as well.

2010 Secondary Class 1 Trainee 7 - Kate

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