ACCESSIBILITY THE QUALITY MOST ADMIRED IN AN EDUCATOR

The question ?What is the most praiseworthy quality that you look for in a teacher?? prompted 214 replies between April 30th and May 19th. Given the four choices we provided ? fairness, patience, accessibility, and professional competence ? 50% of those who replied chose accessibility, 22.6% patience, 15% professional competence, and 12.6% fairness.

Education is about relationships among people, not just imparting knowledge. So it?s vital that the teacher be present and available. Our society is prone to spend long hours engrossed with electronic gadgets and the like, but deep down our needs center on the heart ? that is where our victories are won. And that is where personal motivation comes in and the determination to find teachers who know how to motivate students to succeed. At the same time, you expect a teacher to know how to respect the pace of learning and maturing of students in his care. Thus, patience took second place. ?Coaching,? much in vogue today, actually pursues the same end: to use the best training methods to help each student achieve his or her aims in life.