What Makes a Great Teacher? What Makes a Great Student?

Many teachers will ask their class questions like, "What makes a great student?" or "What qualities does a great student have?" The G5 teachers started the year off with a different approach to set the tone for the year:

By Mr. Liam and Ms. Rachel

Today we asked our Grade 5 students the question, “What makes a great teacher?” There were many responses. What do you think? Do you agree with their responses? Are there any key elements missing? I wonder if student expectations are different to their parents’. Below are some of the thoughts from our Grade 5 cohort.

A great teacher...

Is helpful, is inspirational, is a motivator, gives interesting maths problems, is funny and has fun, is a good listener, values the opinions of their students, doesn’t shout, plays lots of educational games, takes us on field trips, is easy going, gives a lot of encouragement, throws awesome parties, is a good role model, lets us sit with our friends!

We then asked our cohort the question, “What makes a great student?” They responded: Stays positive, shows empathy, is full of wonder, wants to know more, is an inquirer, asks a lot of questions, stays on task, is great at teamwork, is a good listener

Is a good communicator, is honest, is respectful, is empathetic, doesn’t talk over others, uses positive language, respects the environment, is principled, is responsible, is polite and well mannered, never gives up, takes ownership of their learning and asks for clarification.

Is funny, helps their peers, is caring, is creative, is open – minded, tries their best, compliments others, is smart and energetic, cares for their community and raises money for charity, encourages others to stands up to bullies, shares their ideas, studies hard, always wants to learn more.

Quite a list of qualities! I wonder what all of these look like in practice.