Authenticity: Knowing One's Limits

Authenticity means that one should be true to theirself. A teacher can better themselves from being authentic. One can teach as best they can with the knowledge he or she has. A teacher should never pretend to teach something that they do not know about. Otherwise, students could be misguided by incorrect information and cannot develop and grow. Therefore, the students really never learn anything properly.

For example I know a friend who had a private string teacher for lessons from my hometown. She always remained true to herself in her teaching. My friend was told by her teacher that she should move on to a new teacher to help her develop her playing. The teacher watched out for the well-being and development of the student. She knew she could no longer teach her student based on her teaching skills. Not that the teacher is not good, or to say that the student had surpassed the teacher's knowledge. But merely that the teacher felt she no longer fit the skill level of the student. A good teacher is one who truly knows their limits. In my friend's case,the teacher did not think of herself, but rather understood her student's need and passion to know more.

Compassion within Teachers

Compassion equals the love one shares for something. In teaching, I think it's important that the teacher have compassion for what they're teaching, as well as who they're are teaching to.

My own personal example of this kind of teacher is my youth symphony director. She has a wealth of knowledge about music and what it means to work as an ensemble. She always approached each member of the symphony as an individual. For example, every year she would would always send out holiday cards in december to every member of the symphony.

She was as passionate about music as she was her students. She gave us all the idea of creating art with the music. The way she taught us allowed us to share the art with the audience members.

When compassion for teaching, the subject matter, and for the students are combined, this can create an ideal teacher.

Respect in the Classroom

I define respect as the appreciation and understanding of others. The same idea applies to the classroom. The students should appreciate that the teachers try to allow students to understand and learn whatever topic it is that he or she covers. On the flip side, teachers need to know that some students will not initially understand what he or she teaches.



If a student tells a teacher that their certain subject or class is stupid. This exemplifies that the students do not appreciate the teacher. The teacher hopefully has good intentions to explain the subject or topic so that each individual student can understand. However, when a student asks a legitimate question respectfully, the teacher should never reply in a sarcastic or rude manner. In this situation, the teacher does not understand that the student has good intentions to learn the subject or topic. The environment is skewed. If a teacher were to act in negative or saracastic way, there is a high chance that the students will focus more on the teacher and less on the subject they are learning. Thus the entire purpose of the teacher and the students both lose their purpose.



Respect is best established among the teacher and the students when there is a positive, mutual understanding and appreciation of each persons' role in the classroom.