good teachers are born not made essay

Are Great Teachers Born or Made?

Claudia costin.

The role of teachers has changed. They are no longer just a source of information and knowledge available to students. The core role of teachers today is to equip students to seek, analyze, and effectively use information. Their role is to help them become better citizens and develop competencies for today’s global economy, such as critical thinking, problem solving, and team work.   Teacher quality is a topic dear to my heart. Until about three months ago, I was responsible for Brazil’s biggest municipal education system, including 660,000 students and 45,000 teachers in the city of Rio de Janeiro. There, I met many great teachers and principals committed to changing the lives of children.   In the World Bank Group, where I now lead the Education Global Practice, we know that countries with higher student achievement in international exams also achieve faster economic growth. In other words, as students absorb more learning, economies can become more productive. Teachers are at the center of this striking correlation, and their effectiveness is the single most important predictor in the school environment of how much students learn.  I just had the opportunity and the honor to help launch in Lima, Peru, the Bank’s newest piece of research on the subject, titled “ Great Teachers: How to Raise Student Learning in Latin America and the Caribbean ”, which distills the latest evidence and practical experience with teacher policy reforms from both within and outside the region. Recent data, especially from the United States, shows that teacher effectiveness is so powerful that students with a weak teacher only learn 50 percent or less of the curriculum for that grade, while students with a good teacher get an average gain of one year, and those with great teachers advance one-and-a-half grade levels or more. Further, consecutive years of outstanding teaching can offset learning deficits among disadvantaged students.   Plenty of global data are also available that show that three things are very important in building a highly effective teaching force—recruitment, grooming, and motivation.

• High-performing education systems such as Singapore, South Korea and Finland use a very competitive process to screen applicants and so recruit the very best into the teaching profession.
• Japan and Korea have effective systems for assessing teacher performance and progress; while Singapore and Ontario (Canada) pay close attention to how school directors are selected and trained, with a special focus on how well they can assess and develop the quality of their teachers. These systems focus on grooming the talent.
• There are also important nuances that surface from global evidence. Incentives matter. One study shows that linking pay to attendance can reduce teacher absenteeism, but how this is done matters. Attendance bonuses are least effective when principals grant them and most effective when combined with other measures such as changes in monitoring systems. In other words, it is important to find effective ways of motivating teachers.
• First, we put in place a platform with digital lessons that ensured more interaction and learning in the classroom.
• Second, we observed classroom management as part of the teacher selection process and trained both new and existing teachers in the use of better classroom techniques.
• Finally, we put in place a system that measured school quality using a composite index of learning, based on the national external assessment plus the student progress rate, which reflects whether students were dropping out or being held back to repeat a grade.
• Report: Great Teachers: How to Raise Student Learning in Latin America and the Caribbean [pdf]
• Webcast: What Grade Would You Give Teachers in Your Country? 
• Latin America & Caribbean

Founder, Innovation and Excellence in Education Policies (Think Tank)

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Op-ed: Good teachers are made, not born

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SOME people think that good teachers are born; educators know that good teachers are made. They are made over time, through education, perseverance, practice and guidance. Newly minted teachers may be shiny and bright, but teachers with experience connect with students. They are the coin of the realm for student achievement. It takes time to get from here to there.

Supporting teachers in the tough job of continuously learning the craft of teaching improves public education.

For many in the recent crop of ed reformers in America there is a sort of article of faith about educators’ unions. It goes something like this: Teachers are great — except for all the ones they call incompetent, burned out, or lazy; it’s the teachers’ voice — the union — that is the problem with public education. For these kinds of true believers, it is hard to refute ideology with reality.

Still, I believe in reality-based discussions.

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The Seattle Education Association union functions as the vehicle for Seattle’s public-school educators to improve public education in order to better serve Seattle’s children. Improvements to children’s learning conditions, by happy coincidence, are improvements to educators’ working conditions. Educators argue for improvements that they know work.

Back to making a good teacher. Fortunately, the state still requires that teachers be extensively educated for the profession, although this too is under attack with Teach for America. The teacher has to provide the perseverance. The job provides the opportunity for practice.

Where does the guidance come from? New teachers need mentors. Years ago, if a new teacher happened to meet up with an amenable, experienced peer at the school building, then mentoring happened. That wasn’t good enough.

The Seattle Education Association advocated for and obtained through collective bargaining the STAR mentor program. It pairs every new teacher with an experienced mentor teacher who is a recognized leader in classroom practice. The program has demonstrated success in helping new teachers get better faster.

Teachers continue their professional development throughout their careers. The most rigorous professional development track is National Board Certification. This yearlong reflection and inquiry about teaching practice has a national first-year success rate of only 35 percent.

Teachers dive into a program to improve their professional skills that only one in three successfully complete in their first year — on top of their day jobs. When teachers complete their certification, they help to raise everybody’s game at the schools they work in. They become respected teacher-leaders.

Experience has shown that teachers in support groups led by trained facilitators have the best chance of completion. The Seattle Education Association tried unsuccessfully for years to get Seattle Public Schools to run support groups. We aren’t waiting any more. We created our own National Board candidate support-group program.

In 2005, when pioneers like Donna Shy and Lori Fujimoto successfully completed National Boards on their own, there were just 22 National Board-certified teachers in Seattle schools. Now we have 276 certified teachers. Washington is third in the nation and interest grows continually. The number of teachers who have signed up to pursue this development track is double what we hoped it would be.

This support helps make Seattle one of the few urban school districts that buck the national trend of high teacher turnover. The nationwide average is 50 percent of new teachers leaving the profession within five years. Turnover is even higher in urban districts. In Seattle, 70 to 80 percent stay more than five years.

With each contract negotiation, the Seattle Education Association has pushed for changes that enhance the teaching profession. It’s our proven track record. It will be our bargaining stance again in 2013.

When teachers have a voice in developing themselves, it strengthens all of the teaching profession. That is what the union does. And that is good for all students.

Jonathan Knapp, an automotive technology teacher volunteered in Bosnia during the siege of Sarajevo, ran a small business and organized for third-party politics, is president of Seattle Education Association.

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10.1: Are teachers born or made?

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• Page ID 86294

• Jennfer Kidd, Jamie Kaufman, Peter Baker, Patrick O'Shea, Dwight Allen, & Old Dominion U students
• Old Dominion University

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By Brittany Bowman

Learning Objectives

• Understand that some people are born with certain qualities that make them better suited for the job.
• Understand the benefits of proper training and experience.
• Understand that the teaching profession demands more than just training ensure success.

Introduction

While good teachers are essential, great teaches are invaluable. We always remember our greatest teachers. They are the ones that not only educated us, but the ones that motivated and pushed us to our greatest potential. They were driven by the passion of intellectual aspiration. They are the ones that we looked up to as role models, giving us inspiration to one day repay their dedication and teach our future students with as much passion as when they taught us. They are the individuals we go back to visit to reaffirm how great they once were and how great they still are. These are the teachers that we are so fortunate to have had in our lives. But what makes up a great teacher? Some say it is in the genetic make-up of individuals who are born with distinct, innate qualities and characteristics that makes them better equipped for working in the classroom. Others say that taking courses and reading through textbooks makes a teacher better suited for the job. But who is to say that it can not be somewhere in the middle. Taking into consideration the ideas behind both sides, maybe the answer to the question 'are teachers born or made?' is simply both?

"It's easy to make a buck. It's a lot tougher to make a difference." -Tom Brokaw (Brokaw 2009)

It's in the Genes

Some believe that genetics and the structured DNA sequence that makes up an individual plays a significant role in how that individual can excel within the classroom as a teacher. A person's genetic sequence can enable them to inherit certain characteristics and qualities that enables their nurturing and teaching side to emerge. These innate characteristics and personality traits can not necessarily be taught, and by tapping into inner talents, the full potential of the teacher can be discovered.

"By nature, some people possess a combination of personality characteristics that are conducive to effective teaching" (Malikow, 2006 1). Having a caring, patient, encouraging, and joyous personality really makes a 'born' teacher stand out compared to a 'made' teacher. These innate characteristics along with many others can not be learned or acquired from reading a textbook or by taking education courses; you either have them or you don't. For a teacher from Framingham, Massachusetts, he had all these qualities and much more. Everyone always remembered Charles Sposato as a natural-born teacher, he went above and beyond expectations. Mr. Sposato was known to be full of spirit and have high amounts of energy that he brought in the classroom to ensure that his students would always be surrounded by a positive environment (Spitz 2007). He even helped a student's family buy needed clothing when money was scarce (Spitz 2007). All the little things really do add up. Based on Mr. Sposato's actions, he was more than a teacher to his students, and he didn't learn that by reading through any textbook.

"Teaching is the only major occupation of man for which we have not yet developed tools that make an average person capable of competence and performance. In teaching we rely on the "naturals," the ones who somehow know how to teach." -Peter Drucker

(Drucker 2007)

Along with many other professions, teaching is primarily based on leadership and communication (Vilhanova 2008). Teachers must have the ability to lead and guide their classroom in a way that promotes controlled and free thinking. It is very important for teachers to be able to communicate effectively, not only to the students but to the parents as well. Communicating to the students is so important to the learning process. If a teacher can not get his/her point across, then it is very possible for the students to not understand the lesson being taught. Communication must be present among, both the teacher and the student. This is where the student can begin to gain trust from the teacher, and vice versa, where the teacher can gain trust from the student (Vilhanova 2008). Gaining each other's trust is very valuable because they are able to rely on each other.

All these aspects and characteristics can only be obtained if it is present in the individuals genes. They can not be taught or learned and that is why, those who possess these innate traits must use them productively or else they would just go to waste.

It's in the Books

To some individuals, an excellent education and a comprehensive training creates the best foundation in the classroom setting and that natural talent helps but it can't provide for the necessities that makes up an adequate and positive teaching environment. Being good or great at something does not always mean that there will always be passion. People who may not possess a natural talent for teaching, but are determined to still become a teacher, may have more passion that those born with the gift. These individuals would have to work harder for their reward, which shows how driven and committed they truly are.

"...even the most brilliant scientists may not know how to communicate their knowledge to children." -Jay Mathews (Mathews 2002)

The main point for teacher education and training programs is to inform teachers about effective instruction methods that can be very beneficial to improve and make the overall classroom experiences more desirable and more successful (Malikow, 2006 2). Once the teacher training and education is completed, the teachers become higher quality because it allowed teachers to gain more practice and experience. In essence, teachers really do 'make themselves' (Moore, 2004 6).

Teachers' work reflects on the students' work. Studies have shown that teachers, with no means of education training or certification, have a negative influence on students in the classroom. Teachers without this proper training, have a higher percentage of students in their class that scored lower on standardized tests (Mathews 2002). Other studies have revealed that the individuals who received a five-year degree from a teacher education program, tend to stay teaching longer that those who graduated with a four-year degree; also, the individuals with four-year degrees stay teaching longer than those with little or no training at all (Mathews 2002).

According to Education Secretary, Roderick P. Paige, and his teacher quality report, he states that "we now have concrete evidence that smart teachers with solid content knowledge have the greatest effect on student achievement" (Mathews 2002). Well isn't that exactly what teachers strive to accomplish? They want their students to be able to reach their greatest or maximum potential and to get the most out of their education. There is an old saying that parents want what is best for their children. Can't teachers want what is best for their students? The answer is of course, and by spending more time taking extra classes or going through additional educational training, this really underlines how the average teacher can be 'made' into a great teacher.

To the others who fall in the middle, including myself, we believe that great teachers are a combination between the two. Having the qualities, characteristics, and drive in becoming a good teacher is one thing, but taking classes to better educate yourself on how to better your students really takes it over the edge into becoming a great teacher. Who is to say that teachers who seem to be born with this raw, natural talent, couldn't benefit from some type of educational training to reemphasize their strengths and build on their weaknesses.

Teachers are a lot like athletes and artists. All three were born with talents, and those talents will be refined because of the training and performance that comes along with each career (Malikow 1). Even the people that were born with all the traits that would make them an excellent teaching candidate, they still might be missing something. If they do not have the desire, drive, or passion to become a teacher, then these innate traits can be thrown out the window. Proper training and experience will help give advise on different techniques and methods that can be utilized. After teaching for quit some time, the teacher will be able to throw out the methods and techniques that did not work or fix the methods to better suit or accommodate the students. Practice makes perfect!

Exercise \(\PageIndex{1}\)

1. Caring, encouraging, nurturing, showing leadership, and patience ...

a. are innate characteristics that make up a great teacher

b. are qualities that make up a good person

c. are traits that teachers can learn

d. can be taught

2. What is one main point for teacher education and training programs?

a. they learn innate qualities and characteristics that makes them better equipped for working in the classroom

b. they make teachers better role models and they are liked more by their students

c. to inform teachers about effective instruction methods that can be very beneficial to improve and make the overall classroom experiences more desirable and more successful

d. all of the above

3. What did Mr. Sposato do that went above and beyond?

a. he focused most of his attention to the students that really needed it

b. he helped a student's family buy needed clothing when money was scarce

c. he never assigned homework

d. he never gave a 'bad' grade

4. How are teachers similar to athletes and artists?

a. all of them like to exercise on a daily basis

b. all of them took classes on how to draw

c. they were born with talents, and those talents will be refined because of the training and performance that comes along with each career

d. they are determined to do what is right

5. So, are teachers born or made?

d. still under much debate and people have different viewpoints and opinions about it

Brokaw, Tom. (2009). Tom Brokaw quotes. BrainyQuote. Retrieved February 8, 2009, from http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/t/tombrokaw105667.html

Drucker, Peter. (2007). Quotations about teachers. The quote garden. Retrieved February 8, 2009, from http://www.quotegarden.com/teachers.html

Malikow, Max. (2006). Are teachers born or made? The necessity of teacher training. National Forum of Teacher Education Journal [Electronic],16 3E. Retrieved February 6, 2009, from www.nationalforum.com/Electronic%20Journal%20Volumes/Malikow,%20Max%20Are%20Teachers%20Born%20or%20Made

Mathews, Jay. (2002). Teacher training: too much or not enough? Washingtonpost.com. Retrieved February 8, 2009, from www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A41591-2002Jul8.html

Moore, Alex. (2004). The good teacher: dominant discourses in teaching and teacher education. New York: RoutledgeFalmer.

Spitz, Julia. (2007). Charles Sposato: a natural-born teacher. The Metrowest Daily News [Electronic]. Retrieved February 8, 2009, from www.metrowestdailynews.com/homepage/x1434249505

Vilhanova, Anna. (2008). The teacher as a leader: which qualities make a teacher a leader in the classroom. Humanising Language Teaching [Electronic]. Retrieved February 8, 2009, from www.hltmag.co.uk/jan08/sart07.htm

Are Great Teachers Born or Made?

A thoughtful new book argues that teaching is a craft anyone can learn. But there's a big difference between competence and excellence. 

One of the best teachers in Elizabeth Green’s new book, Building a Better Teacher , uses an analogy to convey the intricacy and difficulty of her craft. “Every single time I get on a plane,” she says, “I’m really glad that the plane is not being flown by someone who just always loved planes … But that’s what we do in this country. We take people who are committed to children, and we say ... work on it, figure it out.”

This is just one of many comparisons that teachers make in Green’s book. They also liken their profession to surgery, general medicine, nursing, professional athletics, and even chamber music. The metaphors converge on the same point: Not only is teaching technically demanding, its complex component skills can be studied, isolated, practiced, and ultimately improved. Teaching, in short, can be taught.

Such a claim might not seem particularly controversial, but popular culture promotes the idea that good teachers possess a kind of magical, ineffable charisma. An entire genre of films, from Stand and Deliver to Freedom Writers , presents teachers as alchemists, working miracles of transformation not only through dedication but through brilliance and pure charm.

There have been countless efforts to strip away this mystique. Teach for America presents prospective teachers with a document listing the 24 elements of good teaching. Educator and best-selling author Doug Lemov spent years compiling the “Taxonomy of Effective Teaching Practices” featured in his book Teach Like a Champion .

Others have been even more exhaustive: Magdalene Lampert, a longtime trainer of teachers, wrote a dense and detailed 500-page book that documents a single year inside a classroom. The most ambitious of these efforts bring to mind the Jorge Luis Borges short story “On Exactitude In Science,” in which cartographers try to design maps so precise that they describe the terrain down to the most infinitesimal point.

Green takes a more nuanced approach, emphasizing that there is no single magic method that can transform any teacher. Instead, she argues for the teachability of teaching with a host of case studies, research findings, and cross-cultural comparisons. Her conclusions are persuasive, but only to a point. A huge gulf still separates competence from excellence. Can we expect that even the best training will transform a significant number of teachers into the pedagogical equivalents of Kobe Bryant?

It's a worthwhile question, especially since a comparison between teachers and pro athletes runs throughout Green's book. Athletes analyze game film to study what worked in different situations and apply that knowledge when similar circumstances arise in the future. Green tells stories about teachers in Japan who engage in frequent and intense scrutiny of their own practices, arguing convincingly that structured weekly study of filmed lessons would benefit American teachers tremendously.

Some teachers, however, will learn more deeply and effectively than others. They will be better able to anticipate potential sources of students' confusion, to admit and correct their own shortcomings and mistakes, to adapt efficiently to the ever-changing flux of a dynamic classroom.

To return to the sports analogy, an NBA shooting guard can improve by analyzing other athletes. But when it's game time, he'll find himself facing a range of questions: Should he pull up for the perimeter jumper, drive inside to the hoop, drive inside and feed the ball back out to a teammate, or look for a post player in a strong position? The answer will always depend on the strengths of the particular player and his defender, as well as how much time remains in the game and many other factors. In other words, a particular approach tends to work well in a given situation—except when it doesn’t.

This is not because great teaching is some intangible gift, but because—like other intricate and demanding skills, from performing surgery to playing chamber music—it requires a mixture of tenacity and instinct. Does it make sense to interrupt a student whose reply is leading the class away from the relevant point? It depends on the student, the mood in the room, the teacher's personal style, the broader curriculum, and countless other factors.

Some teachers certainly realize this. Others, however, indiscriminately apply methods approved by pedagogical research. One of the least effective teachers I ever encountered had read somewhere that the best way to engage students’ attention was by moving around the room and broadcasting her own love for the subject. Both were potentially good ideas, but she applied them so zealously that many students found her constant motion distracting and her over-the-top enthusiasm bizarre.

The idea that great teachers can be made is appealing for many reasons: It provides hope that our schools can improve and sends the reassuringly democratic message that all of us are fundamentally equal. But self-improvement requires learning, and the undemocratic truth is that some people are better at learning than others.

This is not to say that school districts should fire underperforming teachers instead of offering the sort of slow and careful training that will help them improve. Green’s title is Building a Better Teacher , and making teachers better than they currently are is a reasonable and laudable goal—one that Green’s carefully researched book will surely promote. But it's important to honor the fact that teaching—like any other profession—has its geniuses. Better training could certainly make many mediocre teachers competent, but it’s less likely to make competent teachers extraordinary.

• Josh Kenney's blog

Are Great Teachers Born or Made?

Greatness is easily recognized. Whether it be in sports, music, or writing, there is often a short list of contenders for the greatest of all time. How greatness is achieved, on the other hand, can be difficult to explain.

In Malcolm Gladwell’s 2008 book, Outliers, Gladwell considers the factors that lead to high levels of achievement in a broad range of vocations. Although he acknowledges the fact that heredity and environment contribute to success, practice emerges as a common theme among the greats. Gladwell attributes high levels of success, in part, to the 10,000-Hour Rule, which states that the key to achieving greatness is deliberate practice for at least 10,000 hours. 1 For example, consider Tom Brady, New England Patriots quarterback. With numerous NFL records and 6 Super Bowl championships, he’s arguably one of the greatest NFL quarterbacks of all time. In a 2017 interview, Brady explained that he prepares for 16 hours per day during the week before a game. 2 Practice is key to his success.

outliers.jpg

Figure 1:  Malcolm Gladwell’s 2008 book

Practice is clearly essential for achieving excellence in sports, but is it also required for success as a teacher? Before answering this question, it is necessary to recognize that greatness in teaching is more difficult to define than greatness in endeavors like sports or business. Championship wins and net worth provide simple measures of success in sports and business, however, these evaluations cannot be applied to teaching ability. One way of defining greatness in teaching is to simply describe it. For instance, stakeholders have developed lists of the desired characteristics of an instructor. Although these types of lists vary, there is significant overlap among them. 3,4,5,6,7 For example, great teachers tend to be described as:

• Enthusiastic
• Knowledgeable
• Skilled in a variety of instructional methods
• Able to communicate clearly and effectively

Some of these qualities are skills that can be learned, while others are more likely naturally occurring, and researchers have attempted to categorize them in this way. For example, Childs (2009) summarized the characteristics of good teachers into three categories: (1) attitude towards students, (2) personal qualities, and (3) teaching skills and practices. 5  Alternatively, Arnon and Reichel (2007) used two categories: (1) personality and (2) professional knowledge. 8  Some of these represent qualities that are learned (teaching skills and professional knowledge), while others are natural (personality and attitude).

So, are great teachers born or made?

The consensus is that people are not born with skills and professional knowledge that are necessary for teaching. Some people may have a more naturally agreeable personality, however, teaching skills and knowledge are learned over time. 9 Similar to Gladwell’s outliers, it takes hard work and experience for this type of knowledge to develop. In the same way that a person who has never touched a piano would not be able to sit down and play a piece from Beethoven, a person who has never taught a subject will not be as effective as someone who has taught that subject for years. To become an expert pianist, it takes years of dedicated practice, and it is the same way with teaching.

Figure 2:  Knowledge for teaching [Modified from Grossman (1990)] 4

Many researchers have attempted to characterize the knowledge of an expert teacher, and it's complex, to say the least. A teacher has many forms of knowledge, but one arguably stands as chief among them. It’s called Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK), and it’s the missing link that transforms a person from someone with a lot of subject matter knowledge into a master educator. 10,11 PCK is a vital component in becoming a great teacher and in my next post, we will consider how we can work to develop this unique form of knowledge.

• Gladwell, M. (2008). Outliers: The story of success . Hachette UK.
• McKenna, H. (2017). Behind Tom Brady’s preparation for Super Bowl LI. Retrieved from https://patriotswire.usatoday.com/2017/02/02/behind-tom-bradys-preparation-for-super-bowl-li/
• Feldman, K. A. (1989). Instructional effectiveness of college teachers as judged by teachers themselves, current and former students, colleagues, administrators, and external (neutral) observers. Research in Higher Education , 30 (2), 137-194.
• Grossman, P. L. (1990). The making of a teacher: Teacher knowledge and teacher education . Teachers College Press, Teachers College, Columbia University.
• Herrington, D. G., & Nakhleh, M. B. (2003). What defines effective chemistry laboratory instruction? Teaching assistant and student perspectives. Journal of Chemical Education , 80 (10), 1197.
• Childs, P. E. (2009). Improving chemical education: turning research into effective practice. Chemistry Education Research and Practice , 10 (3), 189-203.
• Hassard, J., & Dias, M. (2013). The art of teaching science: Inquiry and innovation in middle school and high school . Routledge.
• Harris, A. (1998). Effective teaching: A review of the literature. School Leadership & Management , 18 (2), 169-183.
• Arnon, S., & Reichel, N. (2007). Who is the ideal teacher? Am I? Similarity and difference in perception of students of education regarding the qualities of a good teacher and of their own qualities as teachers. Teachers and Teaching: theory and practice , 13 (5), 441-464.
• Lederman, Norman G., and Sandra K. Abell, eds. Handbook of research on science education . Vol. 2. Routledge, 2014.
• Shulman, L. S. (1986). Those who understand: Knowledge growth in teaching. Educational Researcher , 15 (2), 4-14.
• Shulman, L. (1987). Knowledge and teaching: Foundations of the new reform. Harvard educational review , 57 (1), 1-23.

Preview image: Classroom with teacher and students found on  https://unsplash.com/ @neonbrand .

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I am excited to read the next.

I am excited to read the next installment of this topic! Your emphasis on PCK reminded me of the Hattie effect size data I was just looking at last week. Teacher credibility has an effect size of 0.9 (0.4 is the baseline) and it goes way beyond subject knowledge. If a student believes you are a credible as a teacher, it is because they believe you know HOW to teach and you care that they learn, not just that you know your subject. Thanks for sharing!  

Thank's for sharing about the

Thank's for sharing about the Hattie effect size data. I took a look at it as well, and it is fascinating! In those data, it was interesting to see "subject matter knowledge" so low on the scale (0.11)! compared to something like "strategy to integrate prior knowledge" (0.93), which is a component of PCK.

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• Good teachers are made, not born

"Good teachers are made, not born," says Longwood professor

You don’t need a gregarious personality like the Robin Williams character in Dead Poets Society to be a good teacher, says a Longwood University professor who studied the link between personality traits and teaching effectiveness.

Dr. Sean Ruday’s study of students in a university teacher preparation program found no correlation between personality type and teaching performance—supporting the theory that good teachers are made, not born.

"The results of the study suggest that specific personality traits are not necessary for teaching," said Ruday, assistant professor of English. "This is good news for teacher preparation programs because it means they don’t have to look for a certain type of student, or to mold students into a certain personality type. They don’t have to be a gatekeeper."

Ruday and Dr. Peter Wiens, then a fellow Ph.D. student at the University of Virginia and now an education professor at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, conducted a study from 2009-12 in which they revived what the former called "the recurring discussion of whether good teachers are born or made."

"Some say that teachers are born, that you need certain personality traits, but this isn’t supported by the data," said Ruday, a former middle-school English teacher. "Our study supports the other view: that you don’t need certain traits to be effective."

The participants in the study were 89 students in a university’s teacher preparation program, a five-year bachelor’s plus master’s degree program. Their personalities were measured annually over the last three years of the program, and their teaching effectiveness was measured when they student-taught in the last year.

"These findings," wrote Ruday and Wiens in an article that has been accepted for publication in the journal Issues in Teacher Education , "suggest that personality is not a predictor of teaching performance and should not be used in teacher education admission decisions or the hiring decisions of schools."

The results refute a common perception, despite evidence to the contrary, that one has to be a "dynamic, larger-than-life character" to be an effective teacher, said Ruday.

"Some people might observe a teacher and say to another teacher, ‘Be just like her.’ It’s the same way with football coaches—some people think a coach has to be a motivational speaker like Lou Holtz or a gruff, hardcore football guy like Nick Saban to be successful. But no matter a teacher’s personality, they can be effective.

"Good teaching is about being structured and organized, and giving students engaging and relevant work. It’s more about what you learned in your teacher training than about personality, which you can’t teach."

Ruday and Wiens examined not only the connection between personality and effective teaching but also how, if at all, the future teachers’ personalities changed throughout their teacher-training program.

"We found that their personalities did not change over the three years," said Ruday. "We thought that some people might become more extroverted, but they didn’t. The majority were conscientious and agreeable, two of the main traits in the personality measurement we used. The ones who didn’t show those traits stayed the same way as well."

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January 8, 2014 / 42 Comments

Teachers are made, not born

Teaching is a learned activity . As such, the act of teaching requires that the teacher have a mental model of what it means to teach. When teachers teach in ways which appear to an outside observer to be ineffective or poorly thought-out, it is because they are using a flawed model for understanding teaching and learning. Blaming teachers for having flawed models is like blaming students for not knowing things; it doesn’t solve the problem, it may even exacerbate it.

Teaching is also incredibly complex. Once a teacher starts teaching, it can take ten years before they begin to plateau in terms of their expertise. Unfortunately, most educators work towards improving their practice in isolation, and receive little direct feedback on their work. Many of the colleagues I have taught with over the years have never received formal feedback on their teaching! Often the feedback educators do receive is inconsistent, haphazard, and hard to utilize. The best feedback most educators currently get about the effectiveness of their work is the direct impact it has on student learning in their classroom.

If we want to improve education, aside from continue to work on issues of inequity and division in our society, we must plan schools so that teachers are given more time to collaborate and plan their work together. We must also build in an expectation that the job of teaching includes the job of learning more about teaching, and that constructive feedback about one’s work is the norm, rather than an oddity. We must embed learning about teaching into what it means to be a teacher.

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Add yours →.

Anh Nguyen says:

Yes, I completely agree with you that teacher are made, not born. We have to learn and training to be a good teacher. Nobody perfect, teachers are learning and practicing while teaching. Teachers can learn through their mistakes and feebacks. I have same thoughts as you that if you want to improve education, we need to plan , create activity, work with the plan and build up experiences through effectiveness. 

January 22, 2014 — 10:48 pm

Taking up School Teaching as a Career says:

Well said, i too agree with your thought of ‘Teacher is made not born’. Teaching is a profession of great resposibilty, it is like inpsiring kids, guiding them, teach them the difference between right and wrong, it is like building pillar for kids career. Thanks for sharing this wonderful post.

April 19, 2014 — 12:24 am

Victor Abel Snr says:

Certainly, teachers are made.If teaching skills were what a man could have naturally ,the essence of teachers’education would have stood defeated

June 28, 2015 — 4:47 pm

Israel says:

October 20, 2015 — 3:14 am

Mahab Pari says:

good teacher are made

February 10, 2016 — 4:49 am

Good/effective are made not born. When a baby has been given birth to, the brain was empty, he could not deffertiate good from bad ontill another has to install knowledge into his before he learn to become a teacher. So teacher are often made over time through educational training.

February 10, 2016 — 4:50 am

Mabonde says:

Teachers are born because a person have innate that influence even to understand in learning also personality of a person is not learn but is a biological factor( genes) or nature.

April 14, 2016 — 8:19 pm

David Wees says:

Obviously based on this post I disagree. What’s your evidence that knowing how to teach is something you are born with?

April 15, 2016 — 1:27 pm

NAPOKOLI KENNETH says:

Is true teachers are made not born because they have code of conduct that non-professional teachers do not potray.

May 5, 2016 — 1:07 pm

Maryam Usman Omotizi says:

I strongly agree that a teacher is made and not born! Others may argue that not everyone possesses the qualities of a good teacher therefore a teacher is born and not made. But the fact is; if a teacher is actually born and not made, education will not come to being. The word ‘learning’ wouldn’t even exist. Every teacher must have undergone socialisation and the formal school system before being qualified a teacher. And all these processes are ‘making ‘. This means that one is being pulled out from ignorance to knowledge, nurtured and moulded to its full potential. But if you’re born teacher. it means you don’t even need to be educated because you already have an in born capacity which is false! Learning how to say; mummy, daddy from one-word stage, it means you’re being taught(made) you were not born with it. Therefore I stand to say that every good teacher is made! If you are educated and didn’t undergo any teacher training, in some cases, teaching will pose problem to you and managing the class rooms. So I teacher is moulded to be what he/she is today. And that’s why many professions are products of a teacher.

January 28, 2017 — 11:21 pm

Comr Abubakar G Balah says:

Before i was struggling, hustling to change course but after seeing this comment of yours i am simply convince without any strategies THANK YOU

April 9, 2019 — 8:01 am

Ver selumun Timothy says:

I am on the same page with you by saying a teacher is made not born, because if a teacher is been born, no need of undergoing neccesary trainings before becoming a prudent/professional teacher

March 9, 2024 — 1:45 pm

I think we are discussing a difficult question here. Let’s ask our selves, if the teacher is born, s/he is born by who, and if s/he is made, who is the maker? I think before a person is born, he is made, and when s/he has been born, the work of making doesn’t cease, it continues, and so the potentials and skills are discovered with the help of someone else, and so s/he can put them to use as a teacher, lawyer, salesman etc.

February 26, 2017 — 7:52 am

kakore, innocent wendelini says:

It is not true that teachers are made, because even other teacher learning more and they know more but sometimes fail to present or teach, so teacher must have spiritual s/he born with. if s/he has no that spiritual he/she will become bad teacher,so teachers are born. by kakore, innocent wendelini

March 29, 2017 — 7:31 am

Dalia Chalunda says:

One must be willing to accept the responsibility of being a teacher and posses the qualities of a good teacher in order to satisfy this position, whether being born or made.

March 21, 2018 — 1:39 pm

Hamis Masariga says:

Personally a teacher is made because passed in different training and practice that makes his or her professional. And not teacher born.

April 10, 2018 — 2:46 am

Daniel Obadiah says:

I agree with Maryam Usman Omotizi agument that teachers are made and not borne

December 2, 2018 — 7:07 pm

I too agree with Maryam Usman Omotizi

February 17, 2019 — 9:22 am

Joseph shera says:

Teacher are made but note born due to the diferent factors like .postive attitude,forgiving,respect,high ex pectation and class management, and note that ateacher are not born,

April 28, 2019 — 9:50 am

Clemence Mbele says:

Teacher is born and not made she to the fact that a teacher is an ” epitorm”(an examplar to students according to John Dewey

May 1, 2019 — 4:22 am

Bello Zulikha Sinmisola says:

To my personal view teachers are born not trained because it is not all that attend teacher training colleges can impact knowledge, skills perfectly. Right from home mother is the first teacher who takes care of child from cradle till he expose to the formal training. I am strongly believe that teachers are born not trained. We have many people who attended teacher training colleges and failed to be relevant in the field. Teachers are born not trained. Thanks.

September 18, 2020 — 9:33 am

OKUNADE says:

GREAT! I love your work I’m talking fresh dude

June 7, 2019 — 9:19 pm

I loved it so much i read it again wow amazing

June 27, 2019 — 8:00 pm

Scovia Mthumba says:

I support the assumption that teachers are not born but made because they go for different trainings

April 30, 2020 — 5:03 am

Niña Dama says:

I believe that being a teacher can be learned but being a great teacher cannot just be learned. Of the many teachers that i have met and trained, great teachers have in them the heart and the passion to make themselves and their students better and better everyday. Experience and training will make good teachers but the nature or personality and genes are what sets apart a great teacher. As a person and as a mother, i have seen that at an early age, personalities differ as early as toddler age.

May 14, 2020 — 5:11 am

Martins Mathias says:

Teachers are quiet made not born because they are the standards of education.

November 16, 2020 — 8:38 am

Nsajigwa mwakapala says:

I gree with the notion that teacher is made and not born due to the fact that teaching process itself is a profession,an art and a science and in order to acquire this profession you must undergo a certain training that’s teachers training in order to learn how pupil/student learn,interact with others and materials,also pedagogical approaches are learned.Because of being an art and science teaching required a certain set of principles and guidelines that you can’t be innately inherited,this mark a point of a teacher to be made and not born itself.

December 13, 2020 — 9:18 am

Blessing chimezie says:

I am in support that said teacher is made not born because they say that learning is systematic process that is to say that the more you go the higher you become.

February 3, 2021 — 10:00 pm

Mwanahawa Salmini says:

Teacher is made not born because learn different teaching style

August 2, 2021 — 7:22 pm

Walter says:

Teacher are both made and born

August 2, 2021 — 2:54 pm

Palmen Sogokuru says:

Very bright ideas from you all!

September 17, 2021 — 7:56 am

enrico gultiano says:

teacher were really born because the best requirement to become a teacher is his pure heart and his willingness to do the job which is innate in us. if we cant have that how can we become effective educator. it is his passion and somehow a good spirit kind of human is being needed to become an effective teacher. the word MADE are simply just a secondary to the word BORN.

October 3, 2021 — 9:33 am

Khadija says:

Teachers are made not born they are the realm for student achievement.it takes time to get from here to there

January 26, 2022 — 10:31 am

Agida Emmanuel owoicho says:

I totally agree with you guys that teachers are made and now born …

February 8, 2022 — 9:13 am

Othman says:

Well teacher are made because teaching is continuous process

April 14, 2022 — 11:38 am

Saoke Phelix says:

I totally agree with the aforementioned argument that teachers are born not made.Having said so,it’s undoubtedly true to say that some teachers are born with a certain propensity to be a teacher. This alone does not make some one to become ateacher but instead it’s effectiveness is realized after one is made a teacher through training and general school system which enables the acquisition of knowledge.And it’s at this point that great teacher exist as aresult of being made and also the propensity of becoming a teacher that s(he) was born with

September 17, 2022 — 3:51 pm

Sabrina says:

Even if some believe that teachers are born, they cannot hold a teaching position without going through the training and learning the goals and standards. Perhaps, some have a personality that is suitable to being a teacher-however, they still have to go through the training, and adhere to state standards. It takes time to coordinate everything and get great at what you’re doing. So, be patient with yourselves. Greatness comes with time and experience. You can teach.

October 8, 2022 — 11:54 am

Bilal Ahmad Wani says:

Teaching is an art and science in the sense that learning material is moulded according to the child level and science means new and practical methods should be followed so to succeed child in his schooling or education, but it all becomes possible by practice, dedication, hard work, curiosity and so on. So we can conclude that teachers are made not born.

December 12, 2022 — 4:06 pm

June 21, 2023 — 5:18 am

Sagir Modi says:

teacher are both born and made

February 15, 2024 — 10:36 pm

Michael abiola abimbola says:

I also agree that teacher are made not born

March 16, 2024 — 6:27 pm

• Teachers are Made, Not Born! – Gly_Teacher

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Are Teachers Born or Made?

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• Are Teachers Born or Made? /

I have seen some wonderful teachers in my life. Some had lots of training behind them. Some reached my heart with excellence in methodology. Others grabbed my imagination with stories. Some were self-taught. They never thought of themselves as great teachers. Yet God used them in my life. I am where I am because of outstanding teachers who taught me God’s grace.

Henrietta Mears studied teaching. She honed her skills. She was strategic in her planning , preparation, delivery, and follow up. She knew teachers were not born; they are made.

Teachers are not born; they are made. However, a person must have the natural desire to be taught. A good teacher is first of all teachable himself. We must train workmen in our Sunday Schools that need not be ashamed. A teacher must know his subject, observe his pupils, and then do something about them. The more a teacher depends upon the Holy Spirit, the more will he wish to make himself an instrument fit for His use. He will want to know how God made the human mind. He will desire to probe the depths of the human heart. He will seek to know the laws that govern his approach to his pupil, who was created to be a temple of the living God. But failure to work according to God’s laws and lack of definiteness have characterized much that has been done under the name of Sunday School teaching. (“ Henrietta Cornelia Mears ” in the Christian Educators of the 20th Century Project )

We can learn a lot as we think through Mears’ words. Ask yourself some questions from this paragraph:

• Am I teachable? If we will not learn, we surrender the ability to teach.
• Do I take advantage of training opportunities through my church and denominational resources?
• How do I learn the subject I am teaching?
• How well do I know my learners?
• How do I build relationships with my learners?
• Am I depending on the Holy Spirit as I study and teach?
• Am I open to the Spirit’s work in my life?
• Do I pray for the Spirit’s work in the lives of my learners?
• Do I value every learner as being made in the image of God?
• Am I clear about what I teach?

Teachers are made. What are you doing to let God make you into the teacher He wants?

Scripture: Read 2 Timothy 2:2 . Where are you in the chain of teaching God’s Word?

Dig Deeper: Read about Henrietta Mears in “Outrageous Hats and Sunday School” by Marlene Baer here .

by Walter Norvell

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