Amid the hustle and bustle of teacher life it’s rare we get the chance to appreciate the teacher skills list we’ve been able to develop. It’s no secret that young people can be pretty unappreciative so as teachers, we need to give ourselves a pat on the back from time to time. Here are some amazing skills you’ve probably developed as a teacher!
Beyond’s Teacher Skills List:
1. You are an effective communicator with the ability to understand others.
Teachers find a way to relate to teenagers everyday. Although most of us are from a different time, we continuously adapt and meet our pupils where they are. So we can encourage them to aim high and reach their full potential. Our work requires a high level of emotional intelligence so we can understand our pupils, colleagues and everyone around us. We wouldn’t make such a difference if we didn’t know how to communicate effectively. If you can see that your pupils are withdrawn, exhausted or generally not themselves you’ve probably built up trust and rapport. Our interpersonal skills are everything!
2. You are confident enough to speak in front of people
Teaching a lesson is very similar to being on stage. You’re standing at the front while 30 young people brutally stare you down waiting for you to engage their attention and entertain them! Without the confidence to get up there and remain calm and collected even when things are going wrong so many pupils would miss out on amazing teaching. We steadily build our confidence in the classroom and that often radiates in other areas of our lives.
3. You have great organisational skills
Teachers are master organisers. There’s no way we could do our jobs if we weren’t! We have great time management skills, project planning and can’t forget the administrative skills. We are able to manage our time, put schedules together, prioritise our workload and keep on top of our pastoral responsibilities. Our attention to detail helps us produce well-organised, higher quality work which inspires our pupils. Being organised makes completing daily tasks more efficient and makes wider school life better.
4. You are a excellent team worker
In a school, teachers are part of a subject department, a year group team and a wider school house. We come together and work well with a group of people to achieve a shared outcome in an effective way. This helps us strengthen our interpersonal skills and allows us to listen to other members of the team and consider their unique skills and strengths!
5. You’re able to deal with conflict
At some point in your teaching career, you will be tested by pupils. You will be faced with conflict and there is no way to escape it. Luckily, teaching young people makes us close to bulletproof. Our patience levels are up there with the best of them. We are less and less phrased by rude, lazy or disruptive pupils because we have strategies for resolving conflict. Teaching makes you thick-skinned which allows us to be more resilient to conflict.
Do You Have a Different Teacher Skills List?
Let us know in the comments and don’t forget to read even more of our blogs here! You can also subscribe to Beyond for access to thousands of secondary teaching resources. You can sign up for a free account here and take a look around at our free resources before you subscribe too.