What makes a good teacher great? | Azul Terronez | TEDxSantoDomingo 

He was my seventh grade teacher. It was such an honor to be taught by this man. I work in education today as tribute to his legacy. He still inspires me to this day.

Good teachers will be remembered by students throughout their lives.

Im going into my first year of school to become a teacher, and already watching these kinds of videos because I want to be great.

Teachers have three loves: love of learning, love of learners, and the love of bringing the first two loves together. Education is our passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to the people who prepare for it today. I am not a teacher, but an awakener. The art of teaching is the art of assisting discovery.

For students to care about what you know, they have to know that you care. This is my motto.

Good teachers seem genuinely interested in their subject and not just treating it as their job

Great talk Azul, I'm an English teacher at a private school here in Mexico. If you don´t mind, I'm going to share with you a special moment that I had with a student. She was a very shy and a very emotional student. Once they were doing some exercises in their workbook, she came to me when she finished and told me that she didn't understand at all, she had tears in her eyes, I explained her again twice and she was crying saying that she didn´t understand, so I told her a little story, There was a fisherman who went fishing to the lake, he carried his fishing sticks and his bait, he also carried two buckets to put the fish in, He sat on the river bank and throw his fish line into the lake. He had his two buckets behind him to throw the fish back when he caught them but one still had the lid on, The river was full of fish and he was just throwing all fish back to the buckets, and I asked her, where do you think the fish landed? in the bucket with the lid on or the one without the lid? she said the one with the lid off, I asked her again? do you think that any fish could land in the bucket with the lid on? and she said no, then I said, that´s exactly what happens when you say that you can´t, that you don´t understand, that it´s hard, she went back to her chair, came back later and she did it right, I told her "I told you you could" and she said with tears in her eyes and smiling, "I know teacher, thank you for this lesson" She became a very self-sufficient student and made me feel very proud of her.

Some of my teachers were like psychologists, counselors, philosophers, jokers, performers beyond being teachers. I really enjoyed learning and learned to love learning in general from them. I learned to love biology, social studies, geometry, the arts, and other humanities altogether.

A good teacher uses their smile muscles and smile when they Enter their Classroom . Smiling is like watering a plant in the middle of a desert 🌵

What if we paid teachers reasonably?? What if being a teacher was valued and aspirational in society??

I am left with this phrase: "Kids want to be inspired by this idea that learning is important."

'Great teachers make themselves humble before their students' - Perhaps my favorite line from this great talk. I truly agree with all of your points, especially this one. Thank you very much for your inspiring work.

This is a man who genuinely loves his students, and loves to teach.

One year my high school Spanish teacher was teaching how to tell time in Spanish. She gave us foam clocks to use as learning tools. She had to talk to another staff member outside the door for a moment and she left the door open. One of the class clown students threw his foam clock across the room and it hit her in the head. She turned around and we thought she was going to yell and be angry….. instead… she smiled and threw the clock back and had every one throw their foam clocks around the room at each other it was SO hilarious. Everyone had a great time. This made me think about her 😆♥️♥️

As a current student teacher, I got to spend time in a 2nd grade classroom. Being humble and continuing to learn was something that I always strived to show those students. When I made mistakes, they started telling me "It's ok!" because I would tell them the same thing! Kids love to learn when you show them love of learning, and that making mistakes is what learning is!

As an English instructor at an English language centre in Kabul, Afghanistan, I am struggling to be a great and lovely teacher... So, I searched how to be a benevolent and great teacher, then I found your exciting video from which I learnt and picked up so much, indeed.

I think teachers showing vulnerability can have a huge, positive impact on students and encourage their own risk taking and creativity. The more we teachers "lift the veil" on our own learning, struggle and progress, the more connection we can establish with students. Excellent talk Azul. Thank you for doing this work.

I'm a teacher, still watching videos like this and reading more about teaching and students just to be a Great teacher

I came back here to listen to this talk whenever I struggled with my teaching career. Thank you for such an inspiring talk

I just started my first year at University and I'm going to be an English teacher. Thank to this speech, I know the most important thing: I have to listen to the students.

This is my second lesson at school. I actually teach 7th grades. After having had 2 lessons with them, i struggled with noisy atmosphere in the classroom. But, i tried these methods mentioned during the video, and i managed to attract their attentions. It was so lovely feeling that i am now really proud being a teacher. Thanks a lot TED TALK ❤

I still remember one teacher asking the same question when teaching the first class, and now I know why he did that; he wanted to know what teaching style the learners want, and it helped him be a great teacher of the year for his very first year of teaching. Isn't great? Such an amazing way of teaching!

Great teachers are listeners and humble. The most interesting part I loved is "students want you to think like them and not act like them" . This was great.

A GOOD TEACHER DISCUSSES THE PROBLEMS OR DOUBTS OF STUDENTS WITH THEM ONLY PERSONALLY, AFTER THE CLASS IS OVER AND OUTSIDE REGULAR CLASS ROOMS.

As an aspiring teacher, I’m so glad I watched this. Thank you so much for reminding us traits that truly make a great, holistic educator

I am proud to be a teacher, but I love being a student and constantly learning.

"Kids have a way of communicating, and adults just haven't spent the time listening..." As a teacher, I see that this is true for a lot of kids - why do you think so many children become 'behaviour problems'? They are trying to tell us something! When we take time to listen, they know we care!

I am in grade 7 and for me a great teacher is someone who pays attention in class. We students are much familiar with the phrase "PAY ATTENTION TO THE TEACHER" or "PAY ATTENTION IN CLASS" but a teacher should also be a person to pay attention in class, by this I don't mean that he has to keep his phone turned off at all times but it is that he has to ensure the student's learning, make a relationship with them which should be no more than a teacher-student relationship and not to make school a nightmare for them that they want to end it at any time.

Mitochondria is the powerhouse of the bike

I was far from humble and the kids loved me. After 32 years as a high school English teacher I think one thing is key: respect. 😊 I show respect when the students show respect.

"One who Dares to teach must never cease to learn " This one sentence is keeping me motivated.. Always 🔥

A great teacher will continue to teach his students even after school has finished for them, I had this particular chemistry teacher, who's class I flunked but he never gave up on me, he carried on teaching me chemistry after I failed to graduate and eventually we set up a business together. The business did really well and we made loads of money together, yeah we had a few hic-ups along the way, but he never gave up on me. Sadly, he died, but his memory lives on in the millions of lives he affected and I live in Alaska now.

The best teachers accept that students can learn just as much from each other as they can from the teacher. The best teachers make their class an environment that feels safe and comfortable. The best teachers teach students to be self advocates. The best teachers connect with students, and not just about school, sometimes what you need is just a conversation about a book or a favorite food. The best teachers accept that they have something to learn from the students. The best teachers focus less on being good teachers and more on being good people, because if students see that they will want to learn from you. The best teachers bend, but don't break (this one's so so important) The best teachers take a break from constant learning to do something fun, because sometimes that's just what a student needs. The best teachers individually challenge students, because it can make a difference. Those are some of the big takeaways I've had as a student myself.

There are great teachers out there. I'm lucky enough to have had one who I think actually cares about me. She's great. I still visit her from time to time and we just talk about life. It's probably one of the greatest relationships I'll ever have in my life.

I loved having 7- and 8-year-olds discuss by talking and listening, not to me, but to each other. I loved listening to their ideas, and I learned right alongside them! Thanks, Azul, for saying how important this is!

This is great. I wish I could send huge thanks to this man, I feel really inspired. I often tell my students: "I may be wrong, I am expected to be wrong. You are expected to be better than me, because you are the next generation. If the next generation were not better than the last, how could mankind develop?" When students notice a teacher's mistake, they very rarely point them out in class. They tend to either keep it to themselves or tell other students behind the teacher's back; and those mistakes would worsen the teacher's image. I'm still trying to figure out a way so that they can consider me a learning-pal instead of an educator.

In junior high school I had the luck to met a great teacher and, above all, a great person. Words are just too poor to describe him completely. I'm very grateful and lucky that I met him cause he's a rare person. And the irony is that his surname means, with a small change in it, "rare" in greek. God bless him.

Happiness and positive attitude towards everything makes a good Teacher great

Brilliant talk! If I understand what the author is trying to say, a great teacher is ready to be vulnerable in front of their students. Whether it is eating apples to appear more human, or opening oneself up for judgment by singing. If you can connect with the students as a learner yourself, instead of being a subject matter expert, I think you can be a great teacher. Of course, it can lead to the teacher losing authority but I feel until you take that risk, you cannot progress!

Thank you Azul, when I worked with Youth, they would gravitate towards me, an I never forget one kid saying “hey Mr. how come you don’t scream at us” I responded, because I respect you. As Azul mentions here, yes I listened and even sympathized with their circumstance.

This man has so much love. This talk has truly showed me that it's not what you do in life, it's how you do it that matters.

WOW! "What if we taught listening?" "What if every teacher sang (was humble and courageous)?" "What if humor was part of every classroom?"

Thank you, i was a teacher once and i feel guilty because i never listened. I was assuming and imposing because that was the only way i knew to do it. Inside i was driven by fear that students would rebel if i didnt stamp my authority , if i wasnt firm enough, I was young and untrained and i was only imitating what my own teachers used to do. I left teaching last year to study for my Masters degree and hope to one day rejoin as a better teacher one who inspires and motivates

I've always wanted to be a teacher . Now I know how difficult it is. But also how great any teacher around the world is .💓💓 All love, respect, and appreciation for all teachers around the world.🌸🌸

A good teacher doesn't treat their students differently because of a mistake they have made in the past.

The last thing you said is the most important. A great teacher is good listener and this is one such skill which nobody can teach :)

A great teacher for me is someone who is inspire by you to achieve his/her goal.

A great teacher helps shape one's future.

It turned out not just a lecture, but a very interesting topic that I wanted to think about. I admire the work done by the lecturer! This is a huge amount of information collected by one person. I am glad that in our time there are those teachers who, despite the depreciation of their work, are ready to try and improve their skills, to become not good teachers, but great ones!

I am watching this in 2023 and still it resonates. Thanks for the amazing words!

A great teacher inspires and encourages their students to do great things, and tells students that they CAN.

Teaching is related to "love people" and "knowledge donation" ( you need to be generous with the knowledge you have been saving since you are a student…) I love to teach because it is good to do it .. I learned more than my students every class…. This guy said important things ..in a simple way!

Having only 6 months as a public school teacher, I'm really grateful for this inspiring talk.

A good teacher is the one that understands students

A great teacher go extra mile, meaning it is not just in the four corners of their classroom but thinking beyond not just the lesson but the affection.

Great teachers understand what's inside the students minds.

"A great teacher makes himself humble before his students" it hits harder

I want to believe a great teacher should be someone with exceptional skills of communication for the goal of actually making 95% of student or audience understand the lessons 100%❤

It's really great to listen to our student, in their daily life, how they manage to survive in this cruel world, and how they got evrything so handful as they carry out their studying through out difficulties. This was a great motivation for us who aims to be a teacher someday, and how will be able to understand the language of our students in the mere future.... True, that listening/understanding brings out the great teacher...

Ab Initio - To Initiate is the channel which is hosting events every weekend for Teachers. Talks on Important topics and issues related to education industry.

All points of the speaker's speech are admirable , I loved listen him . He explicits the message for teachers beautifully.

I had one teacher in the 8th grade. He was a pretty good guy, very nice, very calm. But what I admired most about him was that he was inspiring. That he knew how to captivate students. He used technology and games as a way to interest students and make them excited to learn. Now that was only a year ago, and I’m only just now in high school, but no matter how recently I remember him, he will remain as a favorite teacher of mine. I just wish I was able to say that to him before I left middle school.

Am here 2023 really uplifting as I go to class I want to let my students know that I adore them and that they make teaching a joy thanks so much for this🙏❤️🙌🤝

I am studying to become an English teacher and during my time in college, this is so true...In my psychology class even though I was interested I did not learn or want to focus because my teacher was considered "a great teacher". In one of my English classes, the teacher told us he use to do drugs and tell us stories but also compared them to the stories. Although I never did drugs it was nice to hear that teachers weren't always perfect and it made me listen to him more.

Teachers helps rewrite the wrongs of the past and create a better future for our upcoming generation.Everyone is a potential teacher by our actions and behavior.l am inspired by work, thanks 🙏

My favourite one is - A great teacher loves to learn.

What a great speech! Students learn better from teachers who understand how they learn not the ones who teach them how he wants to teach them.

At 6:17 when he talked about learning how to ride a bike through actually doing it vs learning in a classroom, he perfectly described our university system.

Students always remember the best teachers I did !

I’m a homeschooling mom! This was a powerful speech 🎤

I am getting chills down my spine. I have a great relationship with my students and love them. The other day I was teaching them PHP, and Web Development, and I started singing the Lorem ipsum dolor generator code in Opera, both male and female parts. When I finished the first paragraph I looked up and my students were all silent and stood up and applauded me. I was gobsmacked. So this video is like a penny dropping moment for me right now.

Azul, as someone looking to start in the profession starting the next school year, after 17 years in a completely different career, this is great information to hear. I really like the idea of asking the students what they think makes a teacher great, and then taking the time to digest that information. Even if it takes a few tries. We often forget how powerful the act of active listening can be. It reminds me of that old reply that our parents and grandparents gave to those of us who asked why we have two ears and only one mouth. So that we can listen twice as much as we talk.

A great teacher is going to be remembered by his/her students forever in life

Friendliness, Greeting with a big smile on their face and having conversations with students about anything and laughing with you about anything is what makes a teacher great. Great teachers don't have to argue or complain with students to make them feel bad if they misbehave or make a mistake once in a while they will only get students to talk about what they did wrong and get their problems solved.

"I heard the words but I didn't listen" this sentence hurts

this is so beautiful and enlightening! I can relate to each and every sentence since childhood to becoming a teacher myself, all the exeperiences I had were collected and recalled. Thanx for this.

This is one of the best TED talk I have ever watched I am going to be a teacher after finishing studying and the message was being conveyed is very important for me in these days

My favourite teacher is umre sir who has taught highschool in my village . It seems that teacher is great person in everybody's life. Which is taught how to live and how to behave others

Great TED talk, thank you Mr. AZUL you have shown us the secret of great teaching!! I worked 34 years as a STAFF SCIENTIST at a NATIONAL LABORATORY and retired and I have been teaching for 5 years now! I am a Science teacher naturally! This TED talk and Rita Pierson are my two most valuable and relevant Teacher advice TED TALKS! From a teacher, to a teacher, Thank You!!

As a teacher for a decade... I realized that the more that i "undress" myself before the eyes of my students and the more that they see that i am human as they are...the more that i can relate to them, gain their respect and teach them better. It's not just about the content but more of relationship that makes a teacher truly great.

“I don't know exactly what we're going yo do today, but I can't wait to learn with you.” a quote hit me from this video

This should be shown to every teacher of every school globally

As a early childhood education student i cannot wait to see the faces of my students every morning. I cannot wait for them to say hey to me or simply just give me a hug or make a handshake with them!!

I'm entering my third year of teaching and the best way I found to reach students is through honest communication. I tell them of my struggles as a student and my honesty opens a door way for students. I've worked with students who come from hard home lives and they ask to talk to me for help on future goals since they know I will do whatever it takes to help them. Your Ted Talk was really inspiring especially since I'm currently earning my Masters degree in Special Education so I can help even more students.

Thank you for such an amazing speech! I totally agree.I have seen many teachers who want the kids to listen to what they have to say, yet they don’t have the time to listen to them or to even care about who the students are. I believe that if we get to know the children, we will learn what motivates them, what necessities they have, what their styles of learning are, etc . If we get to truly know them, we would more likely be able to meet their needs and they will actually not just learn, but become excited about learning, which I believe is the real point of school. Life is a learning journey. If we love to learn, no matter what we face in life, we will be motivated to keep learning. learning about life as a whole, helps us to discover how to solve problems and other things, to face obstacles, to understand ourselves and others, to reach our goals, and much more!

Great Teacher is truly inspiring coming deep from their hearts and souls. The best teacher is still your own experiences and especially mistakes that you made.

I am teaching for 22 years and still like to learn because things change Everyday .

I have about 1year and a half before I become a teacher. My desire is to gain as much knowledge and skills to be the best that I can be. This video is very helpful, thank you!

Great helpful hints. Thank you so much. I have been a teacher for at least 12 years now, and it is important to remember these tips and tools. Thank you again!

The students 'make💖 ' the teacher at the end of the day - you don't just have students' learn, attend, behave...etc - some of my best teachers made me aspire, confide, challenge and imagine and one of the worst made me stretch myself so much more than I thought possible. Much of life is confidence and even with the worst grades, most nervous disposition, great things can be done in the average classroom when a mind is open and receptive. Competence and class still remain as essential 'old school' values but students enjoy interesting, fair and kind people to listen to and be listened by. A big thank you to all the refugee and asylum seekers that take my classes in Glasgow - beautiful people, human but v excellent!

A great teacher is someone who recognizes his weaknesses and tries to fix them.

A great teacher is HUMILITY - is a believer. -Humble and willing to learn from others, mos def from their students. -Patient and an encourager... A born leader

Hi Azul! I'm thrilled to hear you speak about this topic. It is one I often ask myself and I do ask kids. They tell us what they value and need, they tell us when they are happy and when they are hurting, they tell us not only in words but more importantly in their actions. The one common thread is that great teachers do listen. They are not afraid they take risks and they allow children space to be themselves. Would love to connect off the public forum and hear about what you are doing and where you are currently. Hugs to you my dear great teacher! You set the bar high, you always tried to listen!

This session is really helpful to the people who are eager to be a good teacher. Thanks a lot.

A great teacher not only make a huge impact in their student lives in the classroom but for life too. Listening is an art That requires attention over talent, spirit over ego, others over self -Dean Jackson

one of the beest ted talks i have ever heard,this is surely going to make me a better teacher....because from now i shall be listening more to their anger,frustaation,disagreement and crticism

What a great explanation! I believe that a good teacher enjoys teaching. As he mentioned a great teacher loves to learn.

I kept failing in mathematics from 2nd to 7th grade , until a new teacher showed up. He told us that he had got 149/150 in his board exams. He was very strict. He would make beat up students if he catches anyone talking while he is teaching. He would make fun of students, make jokes , had a unique way of walking, he would pinch my arm and tell the class that a monkey is dancing pointing at me in agony. but in first term exams I got 56 out of 100. I was overwhelmed in joy and I was surprised that how could a boy who was a terrible failure in previous class suddenly knows mathematics in 4 months. In 2nd term I got 83/100. In final term I got 80/100. A good teacher must know what he is teaching, the way to deliver and the students should be fear him as well as respect him. That is what I think a great teacher is. But respect should not be forced.

I am a just a helper to any student who wants to learn, but eventually they became my friend.. many parents told me to be strict but I didn't... today one of my student got less mark she was disappointed.. and I was thinking of becoming little serious and got this video on recommendation.. Now I think I am on right track and my students can do better and I have to just believe in them and do little hardwork without change in my attitude. Thankyou.

Very informative talk! Probably the best TED Talk I've seen about teaching