”Iv'e tried but I can't listen to him. Why use 10 words when you can use 50?....”
“I can't watch him either...”
Being a good teacher is difficult and good communication skills are very important. But there are some other characteristics of bad teachers I’ve observed over the years. I’ve noticed that bad teachers:
- Enjoy making others feel ignorant. They don’t miss many opportunities to point out when others are wrong. Nor do they miss a chance to show others how much they know. Eventually, no one speaks up around them – and the worst teachers and leaders are too unaware to recognize they are often the problem.
- Are arrogant. They always talk about themselves and any sense of humility they display seems to be forced. They love to point out weaknesses in their peers as a way of inflating their own sense of self-worth.
- Are overly critical. Not only do they criticize others, but, even more importantly, they almost never praise others. The only time you hear from them is when they want to correct something. And they often do it in the most demeaning and belittling manner with words meant to humiliate, not to teach.
- Think they already know everything they need to know. Because they have already “put their time” into learning the subject matter, they feel like they have already learned all that is necessary to teach. They do not see any value in continued learning or appreciating what others have to offer.
- Are impatient or dismissive when asked to repeat information or explain concepts they feel their students should already have grasped.
- Don’t recognize growth or change in their students. They remember all the mistakes and struggles the student has made in the past and they don’t allow them to move past them. They just constantly bring up past failures until the student just kind of gives up.
- Are jealous of the attention given to other teachers they feel are less experienced then they are.
Not thinking of anyone in particular - just pointing out that I‘ve observed many bad teachers with great communication skills.