Teachers hold the key to knowledge. Yes, a book has all the same information inside of it, however, the teacher is means to communicate ideas and concepts in a completely different way. In teacher preparation programs, greater emphasis needs to be placed on preparing both general and special educators to be competent and efficient at managing today's classrooms with their diverse range of learners (Oliver and Reschly, p. 3). This means that teachers not only need to be prepared with the material, they need to know how to convey the information to children who all learn differently. Another important aspect is, teachers need to understand the information at hand. If they don't then how are they going to get their students to comphrend it. A teachers' confidence is just as important as the students'. When a teacher is teaching a concept they should fully grasp what they are saying, if a student is in class and their teacher doesn't really know what they are talking about, how is the student going to believe what their saying is true? When teachers create a lesson plan they should try and make sure the material is relevant to the students interests, it should be planned accordingly to each class, and should include oppertunity for students to give feedback, and ask questions (Oliver and Reschly, p. 5). When a teacher understands what they are teaching, the success of their students should be apparent. I've seen first hand what a "unknowledgeable" teacher can do to a class of students. This teacher did not understand the lesson, and when she was asked questions to clarify the material to students, she simlply could not. This in turn made the students feel self conscious when it came to the material they were attempting to learn. I know that when I am teaching I will make sure I am ready to convey the information in a way that shows that I understand what I am teaching my kids. I know that sometimes I may need to relearn topics or give myself a refresher course but if thats what needs to be done I'll do it.
Information was gathered from the "National Comphrensive Center for Teacher Quality" article written by Regina M. Oliver and Daniel J. Reschly, Ph. D. Vanderbilt University.
