The implicit message I received during my education was that a good teacher was a strict teacher with a quiet class who did all their work. I thought if the class was quiet and did all their work, they would learn. Nobody explicitly taught this – it was simply modelled and the comments of principals, teachers and parents backed it up.

Now I know that a good teacher can have any number of styles of teaching. Strict, relaxed, loud, quiet – all of these styles can lead to excellent teaching and learning. In fact, a strict teacher often meant one who yelled, and we now know that yelling is not helpful, even for strict teachers.

A strict teacher with a quiet class who does all their work could be an excellent teacher. A more relaxed teacher with a loud class who chooses which work they will do because the teacher give options can also be an excellent teacher.

A good teacher is a teacher who teaches and the students learn, and enjoy learning – math, language, self-regulation, respect, life-skills and much more!