The
performance teacher: does he or she have 'it'?
By Jeremy Harmer
When
you go into the classroom do you 'perform'? Are you, in
fact, the same person inside the classroom as you are outside
the classroom? Most of the teachers I have asked this question
to admit that they are not. In class, they say they are
more – and then they add adjectives like creative,
dramatic and even agreeable.
If all teachers perform, then clearly we need to think about
what kind of performance that should be. Clearly not all
styles suit all the activities which the teacher is trying
to organise. We need, therefore, to be able to describe
different performance styles.
But when trainers or observers go into class, they often
know almost immediately whether the teacher they are observing
has 'it' – some indefinable quality which is instantly
recognisable, but, like the question 'What makes a good
teacher?' is extremely difficult to pin down. If, however,
we decide that this 'it' quality is a mixture of personality,
rapport and personal management skills, then we have to
ask ourselves how we can train teachers to acquire it –
if they haven't got it already.
Teaching is an extremely human occupation, involving interactions
between a range of people. Somehow we need to be able to
pin down the kind of performance 'it' teachers need, so
that we can advise colleagues or train trainees how to get
it.
So, what do teachers believe in?
Find out in the next part of this article.
The Teacher - What makes a good one?
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