Our school is again (as schools should do periodically) considering what makes “great teaching”, trying to distill our collective wisdom/experience down into a few pithy principles that can be elaborated as needed at various grade levels or for different courses. I had a great breakfast meeting with some colleagues today, and we came up with the following suggestions. It will be interesting to see how widely these ideas are shared and how they (or their expression) evolve as more stakeholders get involved in the process.
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The best teachers at St. John’s School
- Connect with students and colleagues
- Model genuine learning
- Maintain high standards for ourselves and our students
- Engage in collegial and collaborative teaching
- Foster a positive learning environment that produces an atmosphere of joyous learning
- Are risk-takers and innovators
- Demonstrate knowledge of and enthusiasm for the subject