What makes a great teacher? What do other teachers, the ones with experience think? How do they see greatness? I decided to find out by interviewing some teachers at Dover High School to see what they had to say.

     First of all, I asked each teacher if there was another teacher who stood out to them who really they saw as doing a phenomenal job being a teacher. Many of them had different answers, some of which do not work at Dover High School.

     First off, Mrs. Lorentz said, “Mrs. Gibson uses many different tactics to help students grasp the math concepts she is teaching. She is always willing to give extra help to students who need it and is concerned about all her students.” 

     Mrs. McConnell added more about Mrs. Gibson, “She has a knack for making learning fun and instilling a love for math in her students. She is creative and explains things clearly.”

     Mrs. Gibson is an example of a great teacher because of her various teaching strategies, such as clear explanations, making learning fun, and providing extra help to students who need it.  She also shows that she cares about her students making them feel more closely connected to her.

     Mrs. Zobel mentioned another teacher from Dover High, “Mrs. McConnell’s always willing to answer questions or provide extra help [during and after school].  Not only is she an excellent teacher, [but] she [also] genuinely cares about her students.”

      Mrs. Gibson had even more to say about Mrs. McConnell, “She has high expectations for her students but also provides all the tools and support for meeting those expectations.”

     Mrs. McConnel is another good example of a great teacher.  She provides sufficient resources and a phenomenal amount of help during and outside of class.  Because she does so, she has high expectations that students will use this to their advantage.

     Mrs. Bradley and Mrs. Milleman also had interesting answers.

     Mrs. Milleman said, “[Mrs. Bradley] builds positive relationships with her students and coworkers. [She] is an advocate for all and uses her voice to speak up for the students who need it the most.”

     Mrs. Bradley, on the other hand, commented, “Mrs. Milleman[‘s] teaching style is accessible. All kids can learn from her. She creates confidence in her classroom and she supports kids to succeed in her room, but also in their personal lives as well.”

     What is surprising about these teachers is that they were interviewed separately!

     Mrs. Bradley is great because she builds strong, positive relationships with others and plays as their advocate.  Mrs. Milleman is great because she has the ability to teach anyone and her teaching allows her students to succeed in many ways.

     Mr. Rees talked about another great teacher at Dover High, “Mrs. Lorentz shows genuine compassion for her students and her colleagues.”

     Mrs. Lorentz is great because she genuinely shows she cares about her students.

     While these are phenomenal examples of amazing teachers, these are not the only examples. As Mr. O’Donnell had to say, “We have many exceptional teachers in the building. I would not want to name just one.” He is right. There are many other great teachers who are not even at Dover High School.

     Other interviewed teachers had some great examples of teachers that they had in the past which are not at Dover High School.

     Mr. Shankle brought up a great example, “My high school German teacher, Miss Sharon DeWees went ABOVE AND BEYOND to the call of her teaching duties – she was willing to teach LATIN at 7 AM in the morning to students who wanted to learn EXTRA, even though she didn’t have to.”

     Miss Sharon DeWees is a great example of a teacher because of the extra effort put in surpassing the basic requirements.

     Mrs. Willoughby also mentioned, “Mike Gunther held his students and colleagues to very high expectations. In holding these expectations, he pushed others to be better than they thought possible. As a teacher he showed interest in his students; I was his student over 30 years ago.

     Mike Gunther was a great example of a teacher because he cared enough to help his students reach unimaginable heights.

     Mr. Hindman spoke about an impressive teacher he admired, “Dr. Meel really taught me how to teach discovery learning, and that really puts the learning on the students’ shoulders. He took away the limitations of the teacher, [so] the students set their own limits.”

     Dr. Meel is a great example since he taught students to be responsible, dependable, and self-accountable.

     Overall, the teachers repeated many traits of a great teacher. Perhaps these observations truly do make a teacher great. These factors include helping the students to grasp what is being taught, teaching in a way so that students succeed and improve, caring about the students, and challenging the students by raising expectations. Another important factor mentioned by Mrs. Zobel, Mrs. Bradley, Mrs. Milleman, and Mr. Mckee was having a personal connection with students. Mrs. Miller, Mrs. McConnnell, and Mrs. Bartholomew mentioned the environment of a great teacher is fun and exciting. Mrs. Burgstaller, Mr. Rees, Mr. Hindman, and Mrs. Bradley agreed that putting students before the teacher is important when it comes to teaching. Mrs. Willoughby expressed the importance of seeing teaching as a marathon or a race you should run as if you are going to finish and win. Mrs. Bradley pointed out that grace is also an important factor.

     Just as various traits create a great teacher, various kinds of teachers exist. They are more than just adults in a classroom setting or those who choose education as an occupation. Parents, mentors, guardians, siblings, friends, classmates, and coworkers can all play that role. A teacher is simply a title for one who teaches. Anyone can be a teacher, it is not simply for those in a school. While this article may appear as something just for educators, it is not. Anyone who has, is, or will teach is considered a teacher. A student simply refers to the one who is taught. Some teachers teach their students many topics and lessons, while others might only teach one topic or lesson. Either way, the traits expressed in this article are important and can be attained by anyone.