ON TEACHING

STEPHANIE FRIEDMAN OFFERS A TANTALIZING TITLE “ ‘Born to Make a Difference’: The Best Teachers Share These 4 Traits,” Nice News, October 4, 2025. She begins her tale, “Dig deep into your school days, and we’d bet there’s a moment there that significantly helped shape who you are today — and a teacher attached to it. Maybe it was your fourth grade teacher who spun such an entertaining story about a historical event that your passion for the subject was ignited. Or perhaps it was your high school algebra teacher who pointed out your natural ability to solve linear equations for the first time, boosting your confidence and inspiring you to pursue a career in STEM. Whatever the case, there’s a solid chance you had an educator who saw your spark before you did.”

A Retrospective Mood. Hmm…. I spent the first 12 years of my working career(s) in education—4 years teaching undergraduates whilst in graduate school, 7 more at the College (now University) of the Virgin Islands, and a visiting stint at Marietta College in my native Ohio.

Mere grad-school students were invariably assigned crappy schedules for their undergrad teaching responsibilities, a practice that likely still exists. I was gratified—and it saved my academic ass more than once—by kids recommending my 8:00 Calculus 101 over professorial options at more humane hours. (I suspect my thesis advisor Otomar Hájek, rest his soul, got a good laugh defending me among his colleagues.)  

Cards and Letters Coming In?? I can’t say my life has been overwhelmed by younger people telling me how I ignited their love for mathematics. Indeed, a CVI student/prospective elementary-school teacher once asked me, in broad St. Thomas “I-lan,” “Professor, what we need this shit for?” I recall we were discussing base-10 arithmetic and its teaching of “carrying” and “borrowing.”

On the other hand, I have been gratified by R&T readers (and also their SimanaitisSays kin) who express thanks for my enhancing their enthusiasm for whatever I’ve been scribbling about.

Receiving, Not Dispensing. And, of course, there were 21 years in which I was a recipient rather than dispenser of knowledge: 13 years kindergarten through high school including early AP in Cleveland’s fledgling Major Work Class; four years undergrad at Worcester Poly; and four culminating in a Ph.D. at Western Reserve/Case Western Reserve.

Memorable Teachers? Though their names evade my memory, the open-classroom Major Work teachers at Cleveland’s Hough School were laudable. I applaud East High School’s Mr. Wilson for his insistence on our memorizing bits of Chaucer and Shakespeare (that I recall to this day: “Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player,/ That struts and frets his hour upon the stage…” And then there was “my favorite math teacher’s car, an Austin Healey 100. Hers was red, as I recall.”

Was it she who inspired me to major in math at WPI? And would she have been surprised that I got a math Ph.D.? I wonder if she ever read me in R&T? 

What Makes for a Fine Teacher? “These important moments don’t just happen by accident,” Stephanie Friedman recounts in Nice News: “Good teachers are gifted at making valuable, lasting impacts on their students’ lives, and there are quite a few traits that research suggests many of our favorites share. In honor of World Teachers’ Day today, we’d like to recognize what it takes to be an outstanding educator — and maybe even encourage you to give the profession a try yourself.”

Communication. “Sure,” observes Friedman, “teachers need to know what they’re talking about when it comes to handing down lessons, but they must also relay that information in ways their students can understand. Additionally, strong educators deliver clear feedback, motivate their students, and listen to their questions and concerns (after all, listening is half of effective communication).”

Image by Annika McFarlane/iStock at Nice News.

Patience. Friedman notes, “Kindergarteners may need help staying quiet during class, high school students may need that tenth daily reminder to get off their phone … the list of reasons teachers need patience (in droves) goes on. And according to teacher and author Richard James Rogers, skilled educators recognize that it may take some students longer than others to achieve their academic goals.”

Friedman quotes Rogers: “Sometimes our students just seem to ‘grow’ into achievement. Some grow slowly and steadily like a plant that is regularly fed and watered,” he wrote on his website. “Some shoot up in a surprising spurt: defying everyone’s initial predictions. I believe strongly in the power of patience when working with students.” 

Image by Ridofranz/iStock in Nice News. 

Treating Others With Respect. “Great teachers,” Friedman relates, “understand the value of respect to cultivate an environment in which students feel safe to ask questions, challenge assumptions, and be themselves.” 

Image by Skynesher/iStock in Nice News. 

Adaptability. The fourth attribute, Friedman observes, is “to pivot when needed…. And the students aren’t the only reason teachers may need to shift gears—the curricula may demand it too. A 2021 analysis identified adaptability as one of the hallmarks of good teaching, noting that ‘teachers need to be aware that knowledge is not static; rather, it is constantly recycled and re-created.’ ”

But please don’t forget Chaucer or Shakespeare or red Austin Healeys or base-10. ds

© Dennis Simanaitis, SimanaitisSays.com, 2025