I think every teacher is competent in his or her subject matter. Why else would he or she want to teach? However, not every teacher is good at teaching.
I believe to be a good teacher, one needs to have a passion for teaching, the students, the subject matter, and a real desire to be good at inspiring the students. Simply knowing the subject matter is not enough. A good teacher must be able to read the students, understand when they do and do not understand what is going on in class, and then be able to tailor the delivery in such a way to pass along the matter in an optimal way. For some of us, this takes time and practice, as well as a strong desire to help the students. Obviously, one must have a sincere desire to help others, then a willingness to go the extra mile to reach out to the students.
Once successful, the students will respond by saying things like, “You’re the best math teacher I’ve ever had.†When I hear statements like this I know I’m doing my job.
Having the proper combination of soft skills and common sense is vital to workplace success. Some of the most important soft skills in my position as an instructor are sincere interest in the welfare/success of my students, being a good listener, and providing constructive, non-threatening feedback. All three of these things can be very motivating to students. To know that an instructor understands their difficulties and believes in their ability to overcome said difficulties is all some students need to lead them forward in a positive direction.
I would have to agree with most peoples responses and say communication. If communication is lacking in the workplace then nothing is getting done. If we all communicated effectively then we would be able to complete the tasks.
Lee,
I think most would agree with you as well. Being able to use different soft skills is imperative.
Philip Campbell
kathy,
Having a diverse classroom is a common one. I think the soft skills is what may help set you apart from other instructors.
Philip Campbell
It is really tough for me to limit it to only one. I would say there is a tie between communication and attitude! I think attitude is everything and attitude is choice! If you have a negative/boring attitude when you are working with the students and coworkers you are not usually as effective as when you have a positive attitude. I believe it is important to practice what you preach and we want our students to lose the attitude and be more positive when they are in the workplace and we should be as well! As far as communication goes, holy man this is so important. It starts at the top of the organization and works its way down!!! If there is no communication at the top so much gets missed until it gets down to us and the operations are not as smooth. Sometimes we look like idiots because the right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing!!!
I think respect, honesty and empathy are important in the workplace. In order to be effective you need to always be honest in your work and what you do, you need to have empathy to try and understand your co-workers, staff, clients, etc. and respect is always key. You need to respect yourself, your work and others. If you don't respect the work you are doing, it will show and you will not be able to engage and effectively do your job.
I feel there are definitely more than one important soft skill. Communication with peers and students, working well with others, respect and dependability are the top soft skills I try and impress to my students.
I think that it is important to have soft skills in all aspects of teaching because you have young and older students
Brenda,
All good examples. How much of what we consider to be soft skills will other members of our team and does that make us more or less functional?
Philip Campbell
I beleive that effective communication coupled with mutual respective are two very important soft skills.
I think one of the most important soft skills is maimtaining a positive attitude. If you have a great attitude and are happy and positive others tend to follow suit. I also think understanding and respecting others is important as well along with having integrity, being honest, and being a good team player. I think there are so many soft skills that are necessary for a successful environment..
For me the most important in the workplace would be attention to detail, customer service, dependability, common sense and positive attitude. One weak link in the team will take down the whole team
Dr. Felicia,
Working with others are always important, no matter if it is in the classroom or in the workplace.
Philip Campbell
The ability to learn from others and respect the opinion of others in the workplace.Being able to be a team player makes your co-workers and your job much easier
I think important soft skill is ability to work well with others. If we have this, our job will even be easier. I say this because the way almost every profession is (and teaching included) we need one another. If we can utilize resources available to us through our colleagues, our job can be easier. We can also help one another out when the one who need help is very busy. Those are just some ways to have teamwork.
I agree with most, but I think Respect tops my list. You must respect a persons education, skill and place in the work place. I want to be treated with respect as well as I want to treat other with that same respect. I think that if this is happening in a work place all the other soft skills can be easier to accomplish.
therese,
You are correct, a positive attitude will affect the atmosphere. The problem is that it is a lot harder to create a positive atmosphere than it is to create a negative one. Keep working at it.
Philip Campbell
In my personal opinion, I believe customer service, dependability, and having a positive attitude are the most important soft skills. If your customer service is not up to par then students may not promote the school to other potential students, which is not good for business. Attitude is always important, you cannot choose what happens to you but you can choose how to respond to it. Maintaining a positive attitude can make any situation turn out better.
It's hard to pick just one for me, but I think having a positive attitude is important because a poor attitude can affect many individuals and atmosphere of the workplace.
