The idea of a good teacher has been in debate for many years among the teaching profession, government bodies and other community members. With many claiming different ‘models’ of teaching should contain certain qualities (disciplined, intellectual, enthusiastic, etc.) that should be adapted into teacher-education and teaching institutions. In this essay I will be discussing, and analysing the main argument from the text ‘Good teachers on dangerous ground’ (Connell, 2009) and explain the key ideas. I hope to find the ideal ‘good teaching’ model, describe what that model contains and discuss how we can foster this. Prior to starting this essay, my initial idea and schema of the ideal teacher was the idea of a supportive, energetic and enthusiastic
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Connell describes that physical teacher interaction, such as emotions and enthusiasm, is an important approach to classroom flow and environment. Connell referred to this as ‘emotion work’. It can be determined that emotion work is a necessary and essential component to Connell’s model. Without emotion work the competent teacher model would not exist. One complication of this is Connells assumption that such values are either natural or taught to a teacher. I argue that such skills cannot and are not taught in teacher education – they can be practised, but not taught. These are personal traits either earned through life, school or work …show more content…
As with my experience, my best learning was with teachers who were emotionally connected with the class, were supportive and enthusiastic. Interestingly, I did not do well in classes with teachers that were unsupportive and unenthusiastic, but were considered intellectual. Accordingly, many classmates had a reverse outcome to what I experienced. I find it interesting that students and teachers would label these teachers as good, considering they were very intelligent about their discipline but distanced themselves from emotion work. I believe that there needs to be a balance concerning competencies that teachers should manage to suit their students individual
Connell describes that physical teacher interaction, such as emotions and enthusiasm, is an important approach to classroom flow and environment. Connell referred to this as ‘emotion work’. It can be determined that emotion work is a necessary and essential component to Connell’s model. Without emotion work the competent teacher model would not exist. One complication of this is Connells assumption that such values are either natural or taught to a teacher. I argue that such skills cannot and are not taught in teacher education – they can be practised, but not taught. These are personal traits either earned through life, school or work …show more content…
As with my experience, my best learning was with teachers who were emotionally connected with the class, were supportive and enthusiastic. Interestingly, I did not do well in classes with teachers that were unsupportive and unenthusiastic, but were considered intellectual. Accordingly, many classmates had a reverse outcome to what I experienced. I find it interesting that students and teachers would label these teachers as good, considering they were very intelligent about their discipline but distanced themselves from emotion work. I believe that there needs to be a balance concerning competencies that teachers should manage to suit their students individual