What makes a teacher great?

Great teachers make you think. They are enthusiastic, they listen. Great teachers give you an idea you can work with and help you to understand concepts.

I had a great English teacher who once bought a pack of tarot cards into a lesson to explain there were other ideas about mythology than the normal or ordinary histories. I can’t remember much about the class but the artwork on the cards got my imagination working.

We had a great Geography teacher, who really explained clearly about all sorts of concepts, like isotherms, synclines and anticlines, geological fault lines. He made it really interesting.

And I’ve had several great Art teachers, in school and at college. The great ones gave me confidence with the work I was doing. One at school entered my art into a competition and I had a painting exhibited in our twin town in Germany. Another at college said my work had a bit of something about it.

The point is that Great teachers get us to go further and do more than we would otherwise do. Learning is dependent on you making an effort, and by having a great teacher you can be encouraged to try harder. I’m glad I had some.