Passion

Passion is what I consider to be the single most significant teacher disposition that affects student learning, to which I relate most other dispositions. A passionate teacher demonstrates excitement, enthusiasm, and optimism for his subject. Without this, there can be no hope for the student to reflect that passion. Without optimism, a student will not want to learn, and without excitement and enthusiasm, a student will be bored. W.B. Yeats says, "Education is not the filling of a bucket, but the lighting of a fire." A lack of passion leads teachers to attempt to fill a child's brain with fact, probably to be forgotten after the test. But with passion, a teacher can light a fire in the student, ignite in the student, a passion to learn himself. This can also work in reverse. A student can be interested in a subject at the start of the class. But, if the teacher is not passionate about his subject, the student can quickly loose interest and willingness to learn. The bottom line? A teacher who teaches with passion can be a bad teacher, but no teacher that teaches without passion can be an affective teacher.

Authenticity

That inner voice has both gentleness and clarity. So to get to authenticity, you really keep going down to the bone, to the honesty, and the inevitability of something.
Meredith Monk


Being authentic is more than just being honest. It is about being open and honest, down to your core, being genuine and real. Oprah Winfrey calls it "a spirit-to-spirit connection." We often hear about "fake" teachers that the students can often see right through. These teachers just do not seem to care, not about their subjects or their students. This lack of authenticity has a negative effect on the students. How can they be expected to fully grasp a subject, when the teacher does not even seem to care? Sometimes teaching can be exhausting, but there should be absolutely no excuse for a lack of authenticity. This does not mean that a teacher should put on a face for his class. On the contrary, a teacher should never need a mask because no matter how difficult teaching may be, the student is the most important, and deserves genuine truth. A teacher who teaches with authenticity teaches through the genuine enthusiasm that he holds for his subject and his students-no masks, just truth.

Compassion

To show compassion is to show sympathy. A teacher should try to make every child feel comfortable and happy in the classroom. If a teacher shows compassion in his classroom with the intention of understanding and sympathizing with the children, he will ultimately be making a positive difference in the children's lives. The Dalai Lama said, "If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion." Therefore, by the teacher practicing compassion, the students should be happier. By making the students happier, the teacher is helping to improve the students' quality of life.
It is important for a teacher to be compassionate, but it is crucial for a teacher to teach students how to be compassionate toward others. One of the most important aspects of public school is that children are put into an environment in which they may learn social skills in situations that may not otherwise be available until later years. When a student learns to be compassionate for another student, not only does it allow both students to be happier, but it allows learning to take place. Compassion in a classroom can help provide three of the five levels on Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs of Learning: esteem, belongingness, and safety. Because the goal of education is that students learn, compassion in the classroom is essential.
I do not have any anecdotes about compassion in the classroom. I have never really had teachers that have had the need to show me a great deal of compassion. But, I was looking around on the internet and found this video, Children Full of Life. Though I do not see evidence of anything that may be part of any standard curriculum, I do see quite a bit of learning taking place. These students have learned to open up toward each other, relate to each other, and be supportive of each other. Now, the young girl who lost her father has learned that she can share how she feels and be accepted amongst her peers, an essential quality in order for learning to take place.

Respect

When we first hear the word respect in regards to the classroom, we often think of how the teacher controls the classroom environment. However, respect should go three ways: from student to teacher, from teacher to student, and among students. At the very least, to show respect is to show regard or consideration for something or someone. The Luther College Education Department defines respect as showing appropriate regard for the needs, ideas, and experiences of others. In the classroom, being respectful is more or less showing consideration, being polite, etc. But, respect is about more than a student not talking out of turn or a teacher not raising his voice. It has all to do with attitude. Students and teachers should not only show respect in verbal communication, but other forms of communication, especially body language. You can often tell a great deal about how a person feels by observing his body language. Good posture, solid eye contact, and an interested facial expression, while not necessarily required, can all be signs of respect.
Without respect, both the students and the teacher can feel unhappy, frustrated, and even threatened. The teacher may feel like he has lost control of his classroom if students are disrespecting him or each other. Students may feel discouraged, insecure, or possibly unsafe. Not only does disrespect cause these negative feelings that can greatly affect the mentality of either student or teacher. Disrespect is disruptive to the learning process as well.
Because of the unlimited possibilities that could occur in a disrespectful environment, it is crucial that the teacher and the class immediately establish guidelines for showing respect in the classroom. Some teachers may prefer to just tell their students what their classroom rules are. I don't feel that this will properly teach the students the meaning and proper ways to show respect. I would recommend that the teacher and the students work together to write some sort of class covenant. For example, have students discuss how they would or would not want to be treated, and write down those guidelines to be displayed somewhere in the classroom. This will allow the students to think about what they would want for themselves before they show any disrespect. It is important that the teacher remember to set a good example of respect as well. Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "The secret of education lies in respecting the pupil." I am sure there have been times when nearly everyone has felt disrespected by a teacher at one point or another. The teacher should try to communicate on the student's level or higher, and be sure to avoid talking down to a student.
The bottom line is that every single person should feel respected and therefore comfortable in the classroom environment. Without respect, the students cannot benefit from their education without disruptions.