23rd September 2021

5 Qualities The Best People In Education Have

There are some skills that all teachers need – patience, creativity, compassion and great peripheral vision are just a few. But there are certain qualities that show up again and again in leadership and top educators. These individual qualities can be honed during your career – noone enters teaching as an expert at all things!

We’ve included some links to CPD courses provided by Creative Education – our partners in high-quality CPD. Our candidates get free access to their platform: find out more here.

Passion

Are you passionate about helping young people to reach their potential? If not, teaching probably isn’t for you.  You’ll not only need to teach the curriculum but inspire them to love learning and encourage them to exceed the limits of their self-belief.  Great teachers have an innate ability to positively inspire others that comes from a passion to teach. It’s probably the only quality here that can’t be learnt – you’ll know if you have a true passion for teaching but you can learn to use that passion to truly help young people thrive.

Try This: Promoting Resilience With The Four P’s

Communication

At their core, teachers are communicators. Being able to present knowledge in such a way that engages learners requires all sorts of communication skills, from the ability to speak with authority, compassion and knowledge to understanding subtle changes in body language from your class – the best educators have a toolkit of verbal and non-verbal communication skills.

Try This: Communication Skills For Support Staff

Adaptability

The best educators don’t get frustrated when things don’t go to plan.  The changing nature of teaching requires fast-thinking and a pragmatic approach to problem-solving. Teachers are faced daily with new situations and need the ability to adapt plans as required. This could mean a quick change when a planned activity doesn’t inspire your class, or taking on extra training to support the needs of a pupil struggling with their mental health. It’s important to have a plan, but spotting when something isn’t working and changing things up is a vital skill too.

Try This: 4 Ideas For Leading With Creativity

Knowledge

The best teachers are thirsty for knowledge and keen to educate others on what they learn. You’ll be spending your career answering questions from curious minds – and you’ll need to have the answers. You’ll have already studied hard to gain a degree and pass teacher training, but continuing to learn throughout your career is essential too. Seek out high-quality training that reflects your interests – a solid focus on continuing professional development separates good educators from great ones.

Try This: Search For CPD At Creative Education

Professionalism

Being a great teacher means successfully building close relationships with young people, whilst maintaining total professionalism. Not holding grudges, keeping your personal life private and maintaining good working relationships with colleagues are essential abilities that those with successful careers in education have mastered. Everyone has bad days – but keeping your personal emotions out of classroom or staffroom will mark you out as a true professional that can be trusted to make the right decision.

Try This: Develop Your Professional Conduct