In a very short year that I worked as a teacher and a department head teacher, I have learned four valuable lessons that I think will be helpful for young teachers.
First, a teacher must adapt. The world is changing fast. What is new today will be ten times outdated today. Mindset, way of living, way of learning and knowledge changes fast that if we as teachers won’t learn how to adapt then soon, we too, will become obsolete.
Second, a teacher must be a good communicator. In the world of teaching, teachers are dealing with different type of people in a regular basis, this means we can’t stay away from people who are difficult to deal with. But if the teacher has mastered the art of communicating in all situations like a politician asking for the people’s support the we can pass through communication hardship with ease and with grace.
The third lesson is this, a teacher must be a polymath. In our society, a teacher is usually perceived as someone who knows a lot. If the lightbulb is destroyed, they’ll call the teacher. The door is not working,they’ll call the teacher. Someone wants to learn how to sing, they’ll ask the teacher. That is the reality of being a teacher, you are considered as a super hero or a super human. And we have no choice but to at least live with some of their expectations if not all of it. A teacher must mold himself into a multidimensional being, who can be able to do a lot of things and has a working knowledge on may things.
Lastly, a teacher must learn the art of learning. There a saying that goes, “if you stop learning, you stop living” obviously as teachers we need to update ourselves at all times to stay at par with the changes in our world. Learning the art of learning is the best way to grow and update ourselves. And at the same time the easiest path to creating a teaching strategy.
This are the essential things a teacher of the 21st century must possess..
