This is a guest post from Sean Hampton-Cole who teaches Geography to senior students at Crawford College in Lonehill, Johannesburg.  When I read this post on his blog http://ideasoutthere.posterous.com I really liked his thoughts and asked him if I could use it on our SchoolNet blog as a guest post. I have never met Sean, but it must be great being a student in his classes.

 

I would consider myself a good teacher if I were able to get even most of these right…

 

☺ Sets up an atmosphere of trust, openness, supportiveness and collaboration where ideas and opinions can be exchanged without fear of failure or ridicule.

 

☺ Leads by example by being passionate about the learning experience.

 

☺ Inspires and nurtures innovation, creativity, critical thinking and individual expression.

 

☺ Possesses a general knowledge of other fields of study and incorporates this knowledge into lessons, encouraging connections between different fields of knowledge.

 

☺ Has an original and unique style of teaching (follows a spontaneous, intuitive and original methodology).

 

☺ Encourages students to learn experientially by exploring, manipulating, researching, questioning, finding connections, experimenting, thinking, and reflecting.

 

☺ Knows the importance of fun, humour, personal stories, relaxed / informal / open-ended instruction and games in the classroom.

 

☺ Makes good use of learner-centred activities in order to get them interested, thinking and innovating.

 

☺ Treats students with respect, integrity and care.

 

☺ Allows students to fail safely.