The main idea conveyed in this chapter is that a teachers responsibilities extend well beyond the school hours. To be effective, a teacher must be well prepared, resourceful, decisive, reflective, fair, accountable, level-headed, optimistic, collaborative, personable, interesting, interested, and, when appropriate, funny. The list is extensive, yet valid. When I think back about some of my favorite teachers, I can attribute much of my enduring affection to the items in this list.
I very much appreciated the section on accepting and sharing instructional accountability. I would like to learn more about how portfolios can be used to develop shared accountability. One thing I sensed during my time at Quest was that many students resented the teacher's position of power. It would be ideal to be able to say to a student, "You don't seem to be achieving your goal. What can I do to help? What can your parents/guardian do?" as opposed to, "You got a D on your test. Now you have to come to after school tutoring."
I like how you mentioned all of the extra time that is needed to be put in for a teacher to be successful. THe different characteristics you listed are true in many of the teachers that I can remember he best from my past school experience. Even though funny was one of them that was towards the end of the list, the teachers that made greater impacts on me were funny. Although, they were everything else first.
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