There has been plenty of comment from the Conservative party in the last couple of weeks on teaching and especially what makes a good teacher. David Cameron (the conservative leader) thinks it’s all about having  a good degree – so in his mind there is a simple relationship  – the more successful you have been in education the better a teacher you are likely to be. Well, while clearly noone would want to have a teacher who didn’t know their subject, the qualities that make someone into a good teacher are so different from those than make someone a good learner that trying to find a simple link between them is doomed to failure.

So what does make a good teacher?  Teachers need to be caring, creative, and above all know how to motivate their students. In a school classroom they also need to know how to control their students – although it is certainly clear that well motivated and engaged students are much less likely to misbehave! As well as motivating their students the best teachers assess them regularly – letting students know how they are doing and where they are at within a scheme of work – what they need to do next and so on.

It is also the case that teachers need to have continual development and training – noone can possibly come out of university or teacher training college and be the finished article! – it’s all a process with mentoring, training, development, reflection and constantly working towards getting better. Learning on the job!

At UIC, along with other similar language schools we have teachers who can get the most out of our students. Needless to say they know their subject – English or one of the other languages we teach – inside out, as well as having the personal skills to help the students make the most of their time with us. We organise regular training sessions with our teachers to help introduce them to new ideas and to encourage them to share their experiences.

What makes a bad teacher then? impatient, bad planning, rude, not knowing their subject – a very long list that sadly many of us have had the misfortune to experience!

A recent article in the Guardian ”So who was your best teacher” has some entertaining reminiscences from now well-known people on their school teachers - Michael Morpurgo (author) “I am the proud owner of a 3rd class degree and have been teaching for 40 years so I’m interested to learn that the Tories don’t think I’d be up to the job”.  Dinos Chapman (artist) I hated every single one of my teachers and if any of them are still alive, I hope they read this. They were horrible old fascists who thought you could beat education into kids”, but much more typically comments like this from, Sarah Waters (novelist) “My most inspiring teacher was Ed Tanguay; he taught me art A level in the early 1980s. He was a really brilliant guy – inspiring in the best possible way, not just because he had all sorts of technical expertise and was good at passing it on, but because he encouraged us to think.”

So, what we’ve always known – good technical skills but something very personal as well!