" Brush Strokes " :A Reflective Classroom Teacher 22

Teaching is as much an art as it is a science. It is possible to become an effective instructor without the science of teaching. We will however, never be as a complete a teacher, unless we develop our art of teaching. By art, we refer to the personalities of teaching. The personality is defined by all of the tools that we use; all of the acts that we perform; all of the beliefs that we have and are willing to show to others.
If those superior teaching traits are not cultivated, then we cannot expect to teach as effectively as someone who has acquired them. An artless teacher can stand in front of children and spew out his or her rhetoric but unless those words come from the soul; it is a waste of time and effort. The teaching traits that we believe are most needed are exemplified by positive expectations and an innate passion for wanting to help others. That is the fire to be fanned in our young educators.
There will be days when we will teach more on the play-ground than we will in the classroom and that those teaching methods cannot be taught, only experienced. There will be times that our silence and our look will speak volumes of our approval or disapproval. Students will achieve because it is expected and is modeled by us in everything we do as teachers. Students must know they are loved and respected for their uniqueness. Students must know and appreciate the fact that we are flexible when we can be; available when we must be; open when we should be and honest; always. You will not find that art form described in many texts.
As teachers we must be more than just books and theories. We are the loving, nurturing guardians of all the children under our care. We teach what needs to be known, even when it is not in the books.