Genuine Teachers

At a young age, we all learn that everyone is different. We each have our own personality, interests, goals, talents, etc. As adults, we learn that those differences make us unique. As teachers, it is important for us to be ourselves and to show our personality through our teaching. If all teachers were the same, had the same personality, and had the same teaching style, I honestly would not want to become a teacher. If I had experienced that as a student, I would have been bored in school and I would have no interest in becoming a teacher. The interesting part of school was having teachers who were all different in their personalities and teaching methods.

I don't really think that there are limits on how teachers express their authenticity. As a student, I enjoyed the class more and I got more out of the class if I had a good relationship with the teacher. Students are able to learn better when they are able to relate to their teacher and if they have a good idea about who their teacher is. I believe that the teacher and student relationship is very important because it shows students that their teachers are people just like them. When students are able to trust their teachers, they are more comfortable in the classroom which helps them become more engaged in the classroom. I think that students can also tell if a teacher is not authentic or being themselves. Their teaching methods would probably be very simple and the creativity and variation that the students thrive on would not be present. Students can tell when a teacher isn't really into what they are doing and when they aren't showing their personality in the classroom. It hurts the students if their teacher is not being authentic because they will not learn to trust their teacher. They will also not form that relationship with their teacher. Students will not learn if they think that their teacher is not truly interested in their learning.

I think that it is very important for teachers to be able to express themselves through their teaching. It would not be interesting for students if all of their teachers were similar. As teachers, we are role models for our students. They will learn to put their personality and creativity into what they do as long as we demonstrate how to do that in the classroom.