Questions: Have you ever had a great teacher? What did you like about him/her? Comment here!

I’m writing this article as a thank you to a great teacher I had in high school named Brad Vickers. He embodies what makes a great teacher and every day I’m glad he was able to teach me. He inspired me to work in the field of graphic design, and I owe a lot to him. As a tribute to his teaching abilities I am going to discuss the strengths, qualities, and criteria that make great teachers. Brad Vickers had all of these characteristics, and I hope everyone has an opportunity to be taught by a teacher as awesome as him.

In a lifetime, we may be graced with the presence of few great teachers. These people end up shaping our lives for the better because of their greatness, and we deeply admire them for that. A great teacher has many faces. They may typically be a professor or teacher in the classroom, but often they can be our family, friends, coworkers, and neighbors. It makes no difference who they are really, or what their profession, but great teachers all have one thing in common. They instill inside us values, knowledge, hopes and dreams. Once they’ve been taught to us, we are changed for the rest of our lives.

Teachers who teach for a profession have high expectations to meet. They hold our young children’s minds in their hands and mold them like pieces of fine clay. Greatness is expected from these teachers as they are responsible for helping bring our children into their adult lives. This is partly why it is important to find the characteristics that these great teachers share. If teachers are to be taught themselves, they must be taught the excellent traits of their peers before them.

Let’s take a look at the qualities that define a great teacher:

1. Love What They Do

There is no question, that awesome teachers love to teach. Not doing it for the money, prestige, or glory, they teach because it brings them an incredible feeling of satisfaction knowing they are contributing positively to the futures of others. If a teacher doesn’t have this inner satisfaction, and does not enjoy what they do, they’ll never be able to make lasting impressions in their students minds. Passion has great impact, and this is something that all great teachers have.

2. Good Communicators

A teacher has the responsibility of bridging the gap between themselves and their students, so good communication skills are a must. It’s difficult sometimes to relate to people, especially children, so that learning can happen in their minds, but excellent teachers are masters of this. Relating to students on the student’s level, these teachers have developed many ways to reach their students, and communicate using terrific speaking skills, visual aids, and even in their body language.

3. Admirable

In order for a teacher to be great, they must be admirable. These teachers lead lives of high moral ground, and they set an example to their students because of it. Really though, admirable teachers are more credible than others. We as people are much more likely to listen to those we admire, because we wish to be like them. Models of who we would like to someday be, great teachers help show us the way.

4. Positive Reinforcement

Instead of using strict punishment to discipline students, great teachers know how to use positive reinforcement to discipline instead. These teachers understand that negatively hinders how their students learn, creates resentment in the students minds, and ends up breaking the ties of the student-teacher relationship. Often these teachers reward their students for doing a good job, so they are more apt to doing it in the future.

5. Fair & Just

Equality is an ideal that great teachers hold dear to themselves. They treat their students equally, yet giving them the individual attention they need. No child is left out in the mind of a wonderful teacher, and they make it a mission to teach them all the same. In doing so, they end up teaching their students the importance of equality and fair treatment, even if the teacher hadn’t intended to do so.

6. Leadership

Great teachers are leaders. In the classroom, they own the spotlight, and have the responsibility of being strong instructors so that students listen to them with determination. They have to lead their students on the right path through the learning experience, and help by showing the obstacles that may stand in the student’s way.

7. Committed

There is no doubt that a great teacher is committed. They go above and beyond the time requirements of a typical teacher, and are willing to help students whenever they need it. Great teachers are very committed to the curriculum they teach, and like their students, are always continuing to learn in the hopes of becoming even better teachers.

8. Understanding

Great teachers understand their students better than most people. They understand where their students came from, who they are, and know the best avenue to take them to who they will become. Great teachers have an uncanny understanding of what they teach, because they are experts in their fields of knowledge.

9. Compassion & Caring

There is suffering in the world, and a great teacher recognizes this and has the inner desire to help. Great teachers help by teaching, because they know that by giving knowledge to the next generation, they are creating individuals who will have the skills, compassion, and dedication to ending suffering. Great teachers care about the world and what they do and wouldn’t have things any other way.

10. Confidence

A teacher can’t teach without confidence. Students won’t believe in a teacher that first doesn’t believe in there-self. Great teachers are confident that they know how to teach, and in what they are teaching. Nothing stands in the way of this confidence, and the teacher does their best not to become arrogant about the job they do.

11. Prepared

Excellent teachers are prepared. They know they steps necessary in their curriculum to teach students, and follow them well. These teachers are always ready to go when the time calls for it and they never leave their students lost and not knowing the direction they are headed. Great teachers stick to the plans they’ve prepared, in order to teach the beat way possible

12. Professionalism

Professionalism is the sign of a great teacher. They know that as someone who is responsible for helping people learn, they must take their work seriously. Terrific teachers dress well, have good hygiene, and treat their students with respect. They believe in timeliness, and are never late and rarely miss days they are assigned to work. In do so, their students respect them, and are more willing to learn from them.

There are many qualities that make up a great teacher, and these are some of the most important ones. The next time you think about that awesome teacher you had, whomever it may be, think about these qualities and what it takes to be a person who lives a life of admiration. If we truly learn from these people that have shaped our lives, then maybe we can become great teachers too.

“Communicating with negative people and the effect it has on your happiness“. You can view the Helium version here.

It’s undeniably true that there will always be people in this world who see the glass as half empty. These are your negative people, who typically see the worst in a situation, no matter what the situation may be. Communicating with these people, whether they are friends, family, or coworkers, can often be difficult, exhausting, and can hinder your happiness. Why are these people negative though? Once we know the answer to this question, and gain some understanding into the problem we can find solutions to beating the negatively that these people possess.

The Good & Bad Sides

To every situation there is in the world, there is always a “good side” and a “bad side”, or positive and negative sides. These positive and negative sides are typically subjective and dependent on the person who views the situation. In reality there is no situation that is strictly good or strictly bad. This is all determined based on the perception of the person who has the view. People who view the positive/good side are known to be optimistic, while people who view the negative/bad side are pessimistic.

The classic “glass with water” analogy proves this pessimistic/optimistic theory that the way we view things subjectively ultimately determines if a situation is positive or negative. In reality, the glass has water in it taking up half its volume. It isn’t “half empty” nor is it “half full”, those are opinions based solely on an individual’s judgment.

It’s important to realize and understand that situations have both a good and a bad side. Choosing one side over another limits your ability to find the real truth that lies in seeing the broader picture.

Depression & Negativity

People who are overly negative are depressed. This is typically the main reason why negative people always see the worst in a situation. They can be depressed for many reasons, and it’s possible they are despondent about a certain topic or situation because it has hurt them in the past. Whatever the reason, they reflect their sorrow on the world around them, seeing only the bad things in life, which makes them even more depressed, and thus continues this downward spiral of negativity.

Once we realize that a person is depressed, we want to help them if we can. We don’t want to see our friends and family in pain. So, we try to help them cope with their sadness, or fix their problems and reasons for their depression. What happens though is that these people can’t really be helped until they want to be helped. It isn’t until a depressed person realizes that they are depressed, and desires to make a change for the better, that they can be helped. If you feel that a friend of family member of yours is depressed, I seriously recommend having them discuss with a professional such as a psychiatrist about their depression as it can be a very serious problem leading to physical harm and death.

Jealousy & Negativity

Some people are also negative from jealousy or envy. People that are negative tend to resent people who aren’t, and it seems to be a subconscious goal of theirs to make the positive/happy people around them as negative and miserable as they are. Instead of trying to fix the cause of their negativity and jealousy within themselves, they want to change other’s happiness. They do this because it is much easier to affect the minds of the people around them by perpetuating their negative opinions than it is to make real changes in their own personality.

This jealousy can also relate to success or achievements. I have known negative people who after I had told them good news about myself, were the first to show their cynical attitude and point out why it isn’t good news at all. I knew that these people were only trying to sap my happiness, and I ignored their ill-willed comments. People should be happy for the success of their friends, family, and the people around them. Instead of feeling bad about not having someone’s success or achievements, these defeatists should use it as a learning experience and stepping stone to change their own lifestyle. Like I said, it is much easier to perpetuate a negative attitude than to change it.

If you know a person who shows this type of jealous negativity, I would recommend avoiding them if you can. These people believe that you are part of their problem, even though in actuality you aren’t, so it is best to stay away from them, because they will only continue to attempt to make you feel badly about your achievements.

Breaking the Negativity Virus

Negativity is truly a virus of the personality. It infects the mind of one person, and that person continues to spread the virus to other people. It’s extremely important that you don’t become infected, and here are a few tips on how to break the chain of infection from the Negativity Virus:

• Trust in your own opinions
  Negative and positive views are only opinions, and you should realize that no opinion is a fact, so trust your opinion above the opinions of others if you don’t agree with them. It’s important to get the opinion of many different people anyway, so don’t focus on a single negative one. Remember that your happiness is valuable to you and no one has the right to take that away from you if you don’t allow it.
• Show the good in the bad
  If you know a pessimistic person that always points out the bad in situations, you can combat the attitude by telling them the good in the situation, or even have them tell you the good in the situation. Pessimism is based on a subjective view of something, so it is helpful to have a pessimistic person realize that there is a good side as well to be seen.
• Be kind, but don’t be an ego feeder
  Negative people often search for people to feed their egos to make them feel better about themselves, which is only a temporary gratification. It’s important to be kind to the people around you, but don’t overdo it to the point that people talk to you just for an ego boost.
• Include the negative person in a positive situation
  Sometimes it can really help to change the outlook a person has just by including them in a fun event, or happy situation. People can sometimes be truly missing out on the great things that life has to offer, so if you can, try to include them in something fun that you are doing. You may just happen to guide them back on the right track.
• Isolate yourself as a last resort
  Sometimes there are people that no matter what you try to help or resolve a person’s negativity, they remain pessimistic. At this point, I recommend breaking ties with these people, and isolating yourself from them. There isn’t much else you can do to help, so it is pointless to continue subjecting yourself to their negative attitude.

Dealing with negative people can often seem like a daunting task, one that leaves you feeling sapped of energy, but once you understand the cause of a person’s pessimistic attitude, you can help try to fix it or recommend someone who can. Trust in yourself and do your best to see the great things in the world while trying to eliminate the bad. If you do this and do it well, eventually the pessimists will follow.

“We’re a generation of men raised by women. I’m wondering if another woman is really the answer we need.”

“Our fathers were our models for God. If our fathers bailed, what does that tell you about God?”

     I was recently watching a video on YouTube last night that has sparked some interesting questions and responses from people, and I had to write about it because I find it interesting and I hope you will as well. The film centers around a single, yet startling question, “Are you anybody’s favorite person?”

If you have trouble viewing the video click here

     The film, based of off a Miranda July story, contains subtle satire, that shows that our point of view has a lot to do with how we acknowledge ourselves and how we think people acknowledge us. The woman for example was certain that she was her ex-girlfriend’s favorite person, which seems ironic and contradictory. Why would she be the favorite person of an ex-friend? However, when asked how sure she was of the question, she lost confidence, and seemed to grow closer to the actual truth.

     When the guy jogging was asked the same question, he gave the entirely opposite response, even though he had a girlfriend, and was considerate enough to get an orange for her as well. Why wouldn’t he think he could be his girlfriend’s favorite person? It seems that both of these people answered the question based not on the truth of the answer, but on how they saw themselves through other people’s eyes.

     The third man, who didn’t want to be involved in the survey hits the core of why this question can be so difficult to answer, saddening to think about, and pertinent to so many people. This man immediately refused taking the survey, without understanding what it was about, and seemed annoyed at being asked. He is the perfect example of the disconnectedness that currently exists in modern society.

     It is this disconnectedness among people created by technology, social views, and egocentricity that has made a question like, “Are you anybody’s favorite person?” alien to people.

     Some would argue that technology has increased our connectedness, and in certain ways it has, but it has limited our person-to-person interactions, and in this fashion, has separated people. More and more often we talk to people through devices like phones and computers, shut out the outside world with an iPod, while at the same time removing our personal interaction, and non-verbal communication which encompasses over 90% of human communication.

     Other than the growing separation of people from each other, I think the other major issue with the question is that it’s hard to define what a favorite person is. What makes a person worth being a favorite? What qualities make this person special above all others? Do you possess any of these qualities?

     It’s hard to find the answers to these questions when they’re such personal and subjective questions. Different people may have very different answers, based on what they would determine a favorite person to be. I personally, don’t have a favorite person in my life, but there are people I like more than others, and the reason I like them has a lot to do with the quality of their character.

     A person having a high quality character in my opinion is someone who is genuine, honest, trustworthy, understanding, caring, motivated, positive, helpful, compassionate, giving, and probably several other characteristics I am forgetting to mention. I like these people because I admire them. I respect them, look up to them as a person, and want to be like them. They are role models, heroes, and all around good citizens.

     I think most people would agree with me that their favorite person, or imagined favorite person would be someone whom they admired greatly, and looked up to as a role model.

     I’m not sure if I’m anybody’s favorite person out there, and I doubt that I am, but I know that if someone did think of me in such high regard, that I would be truly honored for their consideration. You must be doing something right if someone out there thinks that about you, and you know that you’re truly appreciated.

So, are you anybody’s favorite person? Who’s you’re favorite person? Do they know?

Fell free to answer in a comment. I enjoy hearing from you!