Thanks for all the great comments on the post the other day – it is so good to hear from so many really great teachers.
It’s often easy to get caught up in the bad side of government schools (“Bad teachers can’t be fired” etc. ) but it’s always better to “criticise by creating” and that means looking at the flip side.
How should we reward the really great teachers out there?
And just in case you’re wondering, yes, that means you! If you take the time to read up and keep learning about how to improve your lessons then you are most definitely in the top percentile!
1. Rockstar teachers should be paid rockstar wages!
Yeah, I’d go for that! Really great teachers do bring so much value to their students and society that they should be paid accordingly. Unfortunately as the investment in a great teacher now won’t see the fruit of that investment for many, many years i.e. when the current politicians are no longer running for office, it’s not usually a sustainable option for government schools.
Having said that some teachers are indeed doing this. If you can find ways to concentrate on your own students * and * find a way to a broader audience (e.g. Youtube, newspapers, local TV etc.) it certainly is possible.
After all why would kids put up with an average teacher when they can see a video of the best teacher in the world (* hint hint * you maybe?) teaching the same thing! Maths education has been revolutionised by this. In universities around the world students now attend their local college for seminars and workshops, but the lectures they watch from MIT online.
But no one has – yet – done it for language learning. We’re waiting for someone (do I really need another hint hint here?) to pick up the baton!
2. Get promoted!
Whenever I do workshops or large projects there are always one or two teachers who just stand out head and shoulders above the rest. My instant reaction is to recommend we make them into a trainer of other teachers! The only problem is that when they start spending more time training than actually teaching, the kids lose out. Plus the job isn’t as much fun!
In government schools the only real aim a teacher can attain is to become the Head Teacher. Again they end up not teaching, which is pretty boring and again the kids lose out.
This is one reason I recommend people who start their own school to initially aim for just 150 students. Once you go above that you need to hire other staff. That means you spend less time teaching and far, far too much time managing other teachers. But keep it to 150 or so and you can have a great business and also be able to teach all day.
Great teachers should really be teaching.
3. The magic bullet!
So how would you like to be rewarded? What would be the recognition that would make you feel so, so happy about all the extra effort and work you put into making your classes so wonderful for your students? What would keep you going on the tough, hard days when nothing goes right. And, maybe more importantly, what would make you want to keep doing even more to make your classes even more magical for all your kids?
Figure that out and you’ll cure all the problems with education.
Comments in the comments section please!
P.S. Did you know that supermarkets in the UK now have a “presents for teachers” section? But some schools don’t allow them as it makes the unpopular teachers feel bad that they didn’t get many presents!
Earn More From Your Passion For Teaching English!
Huh, what a post!!!~~~You’re reading minds?! Thanks for putting this all into words.
To the 3 sections:
1: well, I think the accuse NOT to do it is easy: YOU are there doing it.
But it reminds me that I promised a few more videos…and I admit that I got a bit lazy about this whole technical stuff.
2. My thing! I love teaching kids, but training the teachers is fun, too. And luckily my audience seems to be listening and really improving; but the question is wether I want to shift more to that side of doing TTs (which would mean meeting more people who will be tough and hard to train) or do I stay with two feet inmiddst of the kids .
Your short paragraph is absolutely clear and right. I belong with the kids. I hate to see at our school that the best teachers become administrators never working with kids, and unknown by parents.~.
I think I’m having the perfect mix right now, with my own school, a bit of local school and some TT here and there. The last two of course don’T bring any money, but YES I was in the newspaper last month!!!
150 kids makes me think. Might come back for consulting about this one. I’m having 35 right now, without any stress I could go up to 50 or maybe 60 but after that -with my own kids still small- 150 is a huge number. On the other hand I would love to help my husband getting away from his job?!?!
Point 3:
The best rewards so far were kids who would say “I want to be an English teacher like Margit is, in the future”. One girl even wrote it into her graduation essay.
Or mothers who tell me how their kids have changed become outgoing and having a strong voice since coming to my classes.
Well, and I guess if a few years pass I would be really happiest if I would hear that my students are having success due to things they’ve learned from me.
Well, thank you Richard. This was a very “rich” post on a Friday, ~~oh, just noticing: YOUR NAME IS PERFECT!
Hu! The math link is amazing!
Some years ago I worked( in my free time ) as a teacher trainer for Oxford university press (Oviedo). It was great, it made me feel as one of the best teachers, we were in good hotels in different spanish cities, other teachers love and admired us and the way we teach, but… We didn’t sell our books, we sold Oxford University books.
After three years doing that I got bored of been a teacher trainer and to go to that kind of classes.
So… I began to look for good materials in internet. I found good things like GENKI ENGLISH
because the best recognition is that the students learn a lot and love the way you teach and parents are very happy with you and you have a good reputation as teacher and they ask to the other teachers to teach like you do.
But sometimes I would like to go out, RUN AWAY, like this year, I wanted to go to London, because at the end of school year I was fed up of everything, I needed something more interesting but I couldn’t.
So Richard, you are great and you and Genki English are our teacher trainer and our spicologue, therapeuta…
Thank you
Wow! That certainly was a thought provoking post. Living in a country where failing students is routine, you’re right. It’s easy to blame the bad teachers and concentrate on everything that is wrong with the educational system. It almost feels like the students over here need to prove they are intelligent to “deserve” an education from their teachers. Those that can’t prove their intelligence are failed and forced to do the year again. Gosh, if the supermarkets over here introduced such a scheme it would be FANTASTIC!
I suspect it won’t be happening anytime soon however so returning to your question “how do you reward the good teachers?”, I honestly don’t know. Money would be nice of course and a promotion is always good for anyone’s ego but for me, the biggest motivation has to be “student satisfaction” and actually seeing the difference that you can make to their perception of language learning. So maybe the ultimate goal has to be starting your own school and enjoying the success that your reputation gives you?
Ruth, you hit upon a great point. I don’t think the best reward is more money or recognition. While I agree that teachers need higher salaries, I don’t think that offering more money for better teaching will get better results. I think the quality of teaching may even be negatively affected if you start to equate the best teaching with highest salaries….The best teachers are those who feel they are successful because they make a difference in their students. The question is how do you support these teachers and encourage growth?
I agree with you, Gumby – people who go into teaching must be motivated by the desire to help others and enjoyment of the interaction with students etc. rather than the by salary. So if a high salary wasn’t their main motivation to begin with, great teachers will more likely be rewarded by seeing what effect their teaching has had on students and on society as a whole. Perhaps they just need to be reminded of the importance of education in general and get the recognition from society that they deserve without having to push themselves forward. I also think they deserve higher salaries to make their lives more comfortable, as teaching is a demanding job.
Be my love Genki, Richard, you are great and you and Genki English are our teacher trainer and our supervisor. I always take some songs and games to teach to my students. They are very fun to learn English so why they love to study English so much. It is very useful for both English teachers and students to improve or get more knowledge from your mail.
Thanks so much for everything.
Fantastic idea to put EFL teacher training videos on You Tube! I think yours are definitely the genkiest and certainly inspired me. Not sure about putting myself teaching on You Tube, though! Hmmm, maybe get more experience first (excuses, excuses!). I’m very happy to have the kids show off what they can do in front of the camera, and so are they for that matter. 🙂
Oh and I’ve seen some videos of the ‘cram schools’ teaching English grammar (with very little English actually spoken, I might add, very monotone and a good cure for insomnia!) Let’s put some ‘genkiness’ into the world of TEFL!
The Magic Bullet. Having a happy teaching staff should be the same as having happy employees anywhere. Fundamentally, teachers should feel valued and respected; especially the great teachers.
How can an employer make a teacher feel valued and respected? While it’s absolutely true that the most fulfilling thing about being a teacher is watching your students progress, having a comfortable salary is also an important factor. It will keep the great teachers from looking for other jobs.
Each employee should be valued both as an important member of the teaching team, and as an individual. As a team-member, regular meetings with all teachers, for classroom planning or long-term planning are immensely valuable. Imagine having an hour or two a week to sit down with your colleagues to share ideas, make plans for the school, try new things, learn how to deal with difficult classroom situations. Finally, the employer should actively look for opportunities to recognise individual achievements and reward them. Small rewards for small achievements, and more important rewards for greater effort. A gift certificate to a coffee shop or a restaurant, for example, would be rewarding the person a bit of personal time – giving them their time back. A bigger reward could be sending your top three teachers to a teaching / teacher training seminar. Even though we all use Genki English, there’s always something new to be learned at these developmental seminars. It’s a great investment, and does feel like a treat for the employee. Seeing that everyone is recognised and rewarded for outstanding performance motivates each teacher to give their best.
How can a student or parent thank a great teacher? A hand-written note saying why that teacher was special to them, a drawing from younger children, and – personal preference here – consumables. Cut flowers or a potted flower for the balcony, a bottle of wine, chocolates or gourmet treats.
Fantastic post Carma!
Great post.
I’m not quite sure what my perfect reward actually is. More money is always nice ($22,000 plus internet and apartment in China per year is not bad…but feel a little trapped — hard to visit family more than once a year or do stress-free travelling), but money isn’t really my motivation. I never think about my salary while I’m working. I do a ton of extra stuff at the school without ever demanding more money or refusing because I don’t get more (the extra stuff soothes my mind and makes my classes seem better to me).
Recognition? That’s nice…but I’m so shy and not confident about what I’m doing…and when I am confident and get praised, I feel like I’m a sham and I’m tricking everyone.
My motivation is the kids. Are they happy? Are they successful? The other two don’t help when I feel I’m not effectively teaching the kids.
My favorite rewards are the ones I get from my students. My walls (both in my classroom and in my apartment) are covered with the pictures they’ve drawn me, sticky notes they leave in their English books saying “I lov you Mis Keesa” (we don’t learn spelling yet, don’t be too hard on them!) and even a couple of little origami projects they’ve made (I have a boat, an airplane, and a flower so far, and I love them!)
But of course recieving an origami flower from the school board wouldn’t really have the same charm. For me I think that the most rewarding thing is when my director or Head Teacher says “You’re doing a great job” or “I wish we had more teachers like you” or “Could so-and-so come to your classroom for a little while on Friday? We think she would really enjoy learning how you teach the kids.”
At the same time, Carma’s suggestion – gift certificates to a coffee shop or restaurant – would always be appreciated! I like the idea of “giving you your time back.” Teacher training seminars are definitely NOT rewards…at least not here….the only ones we have access to are about as exciting and interesting as biting into a chocolate chip cookie made out of sawdust. Now, if Genki English had training seminars in Peru, well, that would be different….just saying….. 😀
For me, it is the positive feedback I get from parents and pupils that fill me with reward and enthusiasm to keep my classes Genki English enriched and excited to learn more and more vocabulary and songs with FUN FUN FUN!
I never hesitate to send for the principal or head teacher of my school to come and visit the class, and to experience the learning progress of my students, who themselves, feel exceptionally proud to perform and show off their new-found language skills. These same students return home and then perform and sing for their families…and then, when it is parent-teacher interview evening, I enjoy the positive feedback from the parents who inform the principals , and in this way I feel greatly rewarded for my special efforts!
I personally am aware, that many parents very strongly desire me to be their childrens’ English teacher and for me this is a great feeling of accomplishment.
Having said all the above, here in Israel, around February and March, letters are sent out to schools around the country, asking for teachers or principals to recommend top-teachers in their schools which eventually, by the end of the school year, SIX OF THE BEST BEST teachers reach the finals and attend a huge ceremony, with families, friends, and fellow teachers. They are awarded with huge sums of money and their pictures appear in the local Press, etc. etc.
Such an honor, I have never experienced, but nevertheless, I have had my personal satisfaction in my teaching career….as mentioned above! What more could I ask for???
Thank you Richard as always… you have been a great part of my success too!
What makes it worth for me is seeing how the kids change throughout the year. I am seeing things I’ve taught them – talk of motivation! We are creating the future!!! How important is that???? Last year I was able to create unity, teamwork, kindness and gratefulness, amongst other things, in my groups. That is priceless!!!! Those kids still love me when they see me this year!!! THAT is recognition!
Of course that some recognition from our superiors is always welcome and really makes our day by day go by more smoothly. Making sure that we have everything we need to make our job the best, would also help, but truth is it doesn’t happen. Fingers crossed for the miracle! 😉
The other day I read something about how a teacher will never be able to quit his/her job – and you what? It’s true! We have every reason to do so – but the job is rewarding and fullfilling in so many areas that we are literally hooked on it! It’s like a drug, for life! If someone quits, they end up coming back in some way or another. We just can’t help it! Teaching is, and will always be, THE BEST JOB IN THE WORLD!
I dont work for a school as I don’t like regular hours, I work flexi for a language school and often get called as a ‘native speaker’ to speak with students. I also work with people privately.
How can I be thanked. Firstly, I wont say no to being paid……..we say money is not important but rent and utilities have to be paid for somehow. Secondly, my biggest reward is seeing people who actually can’t wait to come to class and learn and who always say thank you at the end of a class. That is a reward that is worth a ton of gold. When I hear adults speaking English for the first time in their lives, that is the most amazing feeling to know I have been given the privilege of making that happen. I spoke recently to an elderly lady who had never spoken to a native speaker before and she had tears running down her cheeks with pure joy after she and I spoke. A hug off a child or when a child shows a favourite toy to me is a joy. Finally, I have only twice been given gifts by students. One was for my birthday last year and from a mother/grown up daughter who gave me a beautiful glass jug to make my herbal teas in.
A teacher is not just for now, we leave footprints that others follow and in leaving footprints, we leave a legacy to be followed. I am well remembered for being funny and smiling……..I only made this my full time profession recently. I hate people who claim to be teachers yet their students pay and pay and learn how to fill in gaps in a book and can’t speak a word, that is not teaching. Our aim should be to change the face of teaching by leaving deep footprints and a lasting legacy of hope, never forget everyone is worth of being taught and no such thing as a stupid person……..change your methods….teach from the heart