Like most teachers, I spend much of my free time doing a lot of reading and researching.

This past summer, my goal was to read 25 young adult novels so that I could entice my students into reading them in their free time when the school year started. I have to admit that was a fun goal.

But the most interesting book I read last summer was a book about education titled “How Children Succeed” by Paul Tough. The premise of his book is this:  The best indicators of whether a child will be successful as a student and eventually as an adult are the character traits they possess.

He suggests that positive character traits are more important than IQ and that schools need to do more to help students to develop those traits.  Based on research that Tough has done, he states that successful students are a complicated mixture of seven character traits: social intelligence, optimism, grit, self-control, zest, gratitude and curiosity.

I loved the book because what Tough explains rings true to me based not only on the evidence he presents, but also on my experience working with students for the past 40 years.

But why limit this approach to students?  Aren’t the people who possess the above qualities the kind of people with whom you want to socialize and work? And aren’t they also the kind of people that you want teaching your children or grandchildren?

Each year to write this column, I glean through the nominations for the Teacher of the Year sent to our committee. Why did someone nominate this teacher? What did they see?

This year, 43 teachers were nominated by parents, students and other teachers or staff. As I read through the nominations, I attempted to condense those qualities into what I call, “The Seven Qualities of a Successful Teacher.”

Based on those nominations,  I found that teachers were nominated because they love teaching, help all students regardless of their differences, are caring, dedicated, make learning fun, are patient and kind, and are inspirational.

Loves teaching:   People wrote of a teacher who is “passionate, “ “excited,” “adores  her students and her job,” and who teaches with “creativity and love.”

Helps all students:   They wrote of teachers who have a “willingness to learn what each and every student needs,” “the ability to see each child’s strengths and weaknesses,” who provides “differentiated instruction,” and “meets all the needs of her students.”

Caring:  They wrote of a teacher who “doesn’t give up,” “has saved the lives of kids,” is “compassionate,” “has a compassionate heart” and a student wrote “she cares about me and I love her.”

Dedicated: People wrote of teachers who go “above and beyond,” are “willing to go the extra mile so all her students have the material and knowledge  they need,”  are “hard-working” and  “uses his own money” for the classroom.

Fun: Students wrote of teachers who “make learning fun,” provides dancing time,” makes learning “enjoyable,” “reads to us” and “chooses good books to read.”

Patient and kind: Parents wrote of teaches who are “thoughtful,” “calm,” “helps them,” “treats them well” and are “kind, patient, committed.”

Inspirational: Teachers, students and parents wrote of a teacher who is “a model teacher and a true example of what we all strive to be,” who “pushes students to their limits and makes them ‘dig deep, ’” of “teaching my child how to be a better person,” who “sets high expectations,”  “makes her students hunger to learn more,” and one student wrote of a teacher who “turned my life around.”

I continue to be in awe of my colleagues and so proud to be a member of the Teacher of the Year Committee. And on behalf of the committee, I thank all of the people, teachers, students and parents, who took the time to nominate someone for this honor.

Our committee will soon have to take on the difficult task of narrowing down the list to a handful of finalists, and on Wednesday announce the Teacher of the Year for 2014.  Stay tuned.

 

Albert Lea resident Mary Hinnenkamp is on the Teacher of the Year Committee for Albert Lea Area Schools.