An ideal teacher

Who's an ideal teacher? What qualities should a human have to be a good one? What are the most important things the good teacher can't be without? All these questions are eternal and people of all times tried to answer them. Sir Donald D. Quinn, the famous scientist once said: “If a doctor, lawyer, or dentist had 40 people in his office at one time, all of whom had different needs, and some of whom didn't want to be there and were causing trouble, and the doctor, lawyer, or dentist, without assistance, had to treat them all with professional excellence for nine months, then he might have some conception of the classroom teacher"s job.” I can't but agree with him. Teaching profession is one of the most difficult ones in different aspects.

A good teacher should encourage and inspire his/her pupils to think beyond their confines and help them to realize their talents as well as the need to pursue them with diligence. An ideal teacher is a true builder of the nation, he builds an everlasting impression on the minds of his students. The hardworking and hard task masters are always remembered and loved by the students later.

The most important characteristic of a teacher is patience. Teacher should never lose his patience in class when students ask question repeatedly. He should explain each and every aspect of the topic in the easiest way. Before going into the class a good teacher will always prepare the lecture thoroughly. Then he can clear all confusion of the students and feel confidence in the class.

The other important treat is competence in this or that subject. A good teacher is a master, he is ready to answer on everything the students need. To be self competent a teacher should be up to date with all the new technologies in his or her educational sphere, use the Internet in the work, attend seminars and self educate himself. I’m a teacher already and use modern technologies in my work, search for the interesting information on the Internet every day, use a lot of demonstrative posters, newsparers, magazines,films about English speaking countries. But at the same time we can’t deny that every teacher is a unique one and has his own character (some of them are strict and authoritarian, others are gentle and kind) and methods of teaching. It's difficult to say who is better a strict and cruel teacher or kind and liberal one. However, students of strict teachers have better results. But it's just in theory. Their studying results maybe much better but what about their minds? They learn because they are frightened, not because they want to know. At the same time students of kind teachers don’t want to do anything, they “feel” that a teacher is not strict , he’s not an authority, so why study? Why should they obey? So as you can see it's important to find "a happy medium". But it's easier said than done and it's almost impossible when you have no experience ,high level of knowledge and some managing abilities.

To sum it up I’d like to notice that teaching is certainly a noble profession but we need to be passionate about it. Love and patience should guide us whatever we do. When you have love and passion for your subject and teaching you will automatically forget the line dividing between the teacher and the taught. You try to explain anything by placing yourself into a student's place. Your soul aim then becomes making a topic clear to the student in every and any possible way. You have to pass on interest and passion to the student.

Read the characteristics and write them in order of their importance to a good teacher. Explain any five of them as shown in the example.
Example: Think a teacher should be self-confident because he / she has very good knowledge of the subject - I think a teacher should be self-confident because he knows his subject well.
1. I think a teacher should be firm because he / she will need to convince people of the truth of his / her words. - I think that the teacher should be confident, because he/she will have to convince people that his words are right.
2. I think a teacher should be strict because discipline is one of the most important components of education. - I think that a teacher should be strict, because discipline is one of the most important components of learning.
3 I think a teacher should be enthusiastic about his / her subject because in the opposite situation his / her lessons won’t interesting. - I think that the teacher should be passionate about what he is doing, because in the opposite situation his/her lessons will be uninteresting.
4. I think a teacher should be understanding because he/she will be dealing with young people. - I think the teacher should be understanding because he/she will have to deal with young people.

Insert modal verbs: should, shouldn't, mustn't, had to, need, needn't.
1. Jim's eyes Are not very good. I think he should wear glasses. / Jim doesn't have very good eyesight. I think he needs to wear glasses.
2. Can I cross the road here?
- No, you mustn't. It's very dangerous. Cross the road at the traffic lights.
- May I cross the street?
- Met, you can't. It is very dangerous. Cross the road at traffic lights
3. Shall I put on my hat and coat?
- No, you shouldn't. It's quite warm outdoors.
- Shall I wear a hat and coat?
- No, not necessarily. It's pretty warm outside.
4. The shop will be closed in two minutes. You shouldn't stay here anу longer. - The shop will close in two minutes. You shouldn't stay here anymore.
5. I missed my bus yesterday and had to go to school on foot. - Yesterday I missed the bus and I had to walk to school.
6. Danny lost the copybook with his homework and had to do it once again. Danny lost his homework notebook and had to do it all over again.
7. If you need help, tell your parents about your problems. They can help you. - If you need help, tell your parents about your problems. They can help you.

Read Alan's story and choose the best ending for the sentences.
When people ask me about my best teacher and my worst teacher, I use the same name. This is Mr Leeds, our history teacher. He was strict, but in moderation. And he didn't have to, because we all loved him and his lessons. He was enthusiastic and his lessons were fascinating. We thought that he knew the whole story, and in fact there is not a single historical fact that he did not know or did not remember. Moreover, he talked about different historical personalities as if they were his neighbors, about different places as if he himself lived there. He encouraged us to read more history books and do serious research.
The most exciting thing about his lessons was his "treasures" - many historical gizmos that you could only see in museums. He had a beautiful golden mask that belonged to one of the pharaohs. He found it while he was on a dig at the Pyramids in Egypt. He had a diary of the British King Richard II, and one day he brought a large bowl. Decorated with silver, which belonged to Alexander the Great, the king of Macedonia, who lived more than two thousand years ago.
We looked forward to each new lesson and it was a huge disappointment for us to miss it due to illness. We all wanted to do research in the future.
In fact, I also really like the story, I read a lot on it. Once in a museum catalog I found a photograph of Alexander the Great's chalice, only the same Mr. Leeds found in Egypt and then brought to the lesson. I could not believe my eyes - the same thing cannot be in two places at the same time. That means Mr Leeds had a copy!
I studied many museum catalogs and found that all the treasures were fakes - just well-made copies. This meant that he had been lying to us all this time. He was a liar, and we believed him and were crazy about his subject!
I could no longer attend his classes and asked my parents to let me go to another school. I had not seen Mr. Leeds until that moment, but I will always remember his magic lessons and terrible lies.
1. Mr Leads didn’t need to be strict as all of his students were very hardworking and attentive at the lessons. - Mr. Leeds did not have to be strict, because we all students worked well in the lessons and were attentive.
2. Mr Leads was a very enthusiastic teacher because he thought that all of his students had to learn history to become researchers. - Mr. Leeds was an enthusiast because he thought that all his students should study history and become researchers.
3. Mr Leads brought a lot of historical things to the class because he wanted his students to be keen on History and to encourage them to study the subject. - Mr. Leeds brought a lot of artifacts to the class because he wanted the students to be interested in history to inspire them to study this subject.
4. The Cup of Alexander the Great was a copy of the real cup that Mr Leads had bought somewhere or had made himself. - The bowl of Alexander the Great was a copy of a real bowl that Mr. Leeds bought somewhere or made himself.
5. Allan fell depressed and unhappy because Mr Leads lied to the students that his treasure was real. - Alan was upset and unhappy because Mr. Leeds lied to the students that the treasures were real.

Answer the questions on the text:
1. What kind of teacher was Mr Leads? - He was enthusiastic about his subject.
2. Why were his lessons exciting and interesting? - He knew a lot and told very interesting facts about history.
3 What did he bring different historical things for? - He wanted to encourage the students to study the subject.
4. How did Allan discover that all the historical objects were copies? Allan studied a lot of catalogs of differed museums.
5. Why did Allan call Mr Leads his best teacher and his worst teacher? - Mr Lids was Allan's the best and the worst teacher at the same time.
6. Why did Allan decide to change schools? - He couldn't attend his lessons any longer.

Was Alan right when he changed schools? Write your opinion and give your reasons. Use phrases from the box.
Examples:
I think Allan was right to change schools because a teacher must not tell lies in any situation. Children are human beings and a teacher should respect them and never tell lies. - I think that Alan was right when he moved to another school, because the teacher should not lie in any situation. Children are people too and the teacher should respect them and never lie.
I think Allan wasn't right to change schools. A teacher can sometimes tell students untruth to make lessons more interesting and exciting. Mr Leads was a very good teacher and with his tricks he wanted to add some magic to his lessons. - I think that Alan was wrong to leave the school. The teacher may sometimes lie to the students in order to make the lessons more interesting and fun.