1/16/2020; Week 02: Response to “Is the Great American Teacher Dead?”

What makes a great teacher? This is a question that we often contemplate as we approach the reality of working with students in a classroom. We certainly do not want to do a mediocre job as we try to engage our students. I am sure we have all had teachers who put us to sleep, or at least allowed our minds to wander. Our goal is to NEVER be that kind of teacher, but sometimes, after teaching a lesson we might feel like Demosthenes, thinking that, “Anyone could have done a better job with that than I did today!”  That realization could be a breaking point that leads us to ask, What can I do to teach better? What can I do to become a “great teacher?”


In John J. Ivers’ article, “Is the Great American Teacher Dead?” (Journal of Invitational Theory and Practice, Volume 18, 2012, p. 49 – 56), he gives us plenty of nourishing ideas to help us to grow into that role. There is a lot that makes us think, “Am I doing that?” (both positively and negatively speaking). Is my teaching passionate? Is it positive, inspiring, inviting, meaningful? Is what I am teaching able to help my students to change their lives? Is my teaching changing the way they are thinking? Am I sensitive to their needs and self-image as good students? That is a lot to try to accomplish!


I think that these are goals strive for if we want our students to be doing more than just going through the motions of learning. Ivers puts a bit of emphasis on the importance of enthusiasm. He states, “I consider teaching to be a science, but I think it is also an art form. Every time a teacher walks into a classroom he or she should take their craft as seriously as a Shakespearean actor entering the stage” (p. 53). He adds, “education is more than just exposing people to the facts. It is an acquisitional process that without the proper delivery system tends to fall flat.”

Part of that delivery system is the way a student feels in the classroom. I read an interesting vignette that inspired me about the atmosphere I would like to create when I teach.

                “Not too long ago I was visiting a middle school. I had been invited as an author-in-residence … .  In one classroom, the students had just completed an extensive unit on poetry writing. The teacher asked me if I would like to read some of their poetry out loud to the whole class. I was      delighted (the kids were beside themselves having a ‘real live author’ read their work.

                “One young girl was a recent immigrant from Uruguay. She had been in the United States only three months and was still struggling with both language and culture. She was hesitant about   having me read her writing, but the teacher encouraged her. Shyly, she handed me her poem.             As I read her poem, it became clear that she was a student full of intensity and compassion. Her       poem was about her growing love for her new country. In a word, it was beautiful!

                “The next day, after I had returned home, I received a call from the teacher. She said that     shortly after I left her classroom the young girl came up to her. In a halting mixture of Spanish and English she said, ‘I really liked the way he read my poem. He made me feel famous.’             “(Anthony D. Fredericks, Ed.D., Success as a Teacher, Alpha Books, 2005, inside front cover).


How can we incorporate these goals as teachers and help to make our students feel “famous?” What is the most important thing we can do to be enthusiastic? What can we do to keep our students thinking and growing? Are we great or dead teachers? How can we feel successful as teachers?