PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES OF THE STUDENT TEACHER
BY
0.0. OYERINDE, Ph.D.
Introduction
The question of whether a teacher is born or made is common knowledge. The pertinence of
this question is revealed in the fact that a teacher exhibits peculiar traits that cannot be bargained
away. It seer; therefore that a number of factors exist that helps to determine whether a student will
excel in one school subject or not or whether he will excel certain subjects over and above other
subjects. The amount of use that the teacher puts his natural and acquired talents, skills and
endowment explains why a student fails to perform well or imbibe the basic knowledge
necessary in learning procedure. It may also go to explain the learning level as they differ for individuals
since the factors have different thresholds in the physical, mental and genetic base of individual
teachers.
Unfortunately, most people enter into teaching in order to earn a living; others because they
cannot secure any other job and yet for a vast majority, as a ladder by which they can climb into
other positions Only very few individuals engage in teaching for share interest or for their endowment.
Even though some of the people who join the teaching profession later develop interest in it and
make it their life's work be choice, there are others who stick to teaching because they cannot
secure better or different positions and so remain in teaching disgruntled and unhappy. This situation
contradicts the ideals that guide the enlistment into a profession. There is surely no substitute for
teacher who are dedicated to their nation and to their students. Teaching is a profession, and for every
profession, whether it is that of medicine, law or religion, training as well as aptitude are necessary
ingredients. This means that those who are not 'born 1 teachers can cultivate, through training, the
qualities of a good teacher to enable them to do good work
II is salient to reiterate that the student teacher needs always to aspire to get a good acumen
of what he is to teach in order to establish the required learning experience in the child. Teaching is
the input stage in the life of the pupils.
Thus, it needs natural instincts, gifts, and endowments. The teacher meets with d ifferent
students and pupils to the extent that t h e differences affect how each child learns. A teacher
poorly endowed will find it difficult to meet the different needs of the myriad of pupils he/she meets in
a career (Adedeji, 1985).
It is in the light of the foregoing that many educationists (Banjo, 1954; Ikejiani, 1964; Coward,
1972; Dosumu, 1978} are of the opinion that teachers are partly 'born' and partly 'made 1. This is
because a number of personal, intellectual and professional characteristics are essential and are
uniquely associated with the successful teacher. The following are some of the vital attributes
expected of a student teacher:
(a)
A right attitude and interest
One of the teacher's most basic and required attribute is the possession of the right attitude
towards teaching and the acquisition of needed interest in teaching. Probably, the most important
point of difference between a good teacher and an indifferent or a bad one lies in their attitude to their
work and to the children. Without the creation or development of the right attitude, a successful and
fulfilling career in teaching will be elusive and difficult to achieve. Most truthful professionals
are those who take the job as "a life time job or nothing 1' They are those that take part in it with an
wholesome intention based on intrinsic values and whose motivating factor is natural, keen and
genuine ambition.
The attributes of right attitude and interest will bring about satisfaction, love of the job, the
development of a sense of happiness on the job and a decreased rate of turnover in the profession.
(b)
A healthy disposition
It is a common sense matter to relate the teacher's health to class attendance and
absenteeism from work. A healthy individual will generate a happy and vivacious influence on the
pupils and students that he/she is teaching. A physically healthy being would be better placed in re
teaching profession than an otherwise endowed being. It is recommended in most quarters and it
is desirable too, that a learner and the teacher must possess a matching health status to take them
through. Probably more than the student, the teacher should be physically fit, alert and active In his
day-to-day endeavour, he/she should demonstrate capacities for carrying out determined and
sustained functions with minimum fatigue He/she is the person who can maintain a physical and
mental balance always.
He/she should know what to do to remain in this state. This will go a long way in decreasing
the rate of infection in a number of infectious diseases that may be transferred from the teacher to the
pupil. It will also decrease the rate of hour lost by pupils and students through visits and absenteeism
arising from prostrating and debilitating illnesses affecting unhealthy teachers.
(c)
Language ability
All fields and teaching discipline have peculiar operational
languages. Teachers with
adequate competencies in the language of their disciplines will be able to convey representative
impressions of the core content to their students. Sequel to the mastery of the language of the
profession is the teacher's use of voice as an attribute. With adequate voice modulation and
necessary cadence, the teacher is at e to communicate to the learners in clear and understanding
language Ambiguity must be avoided so that meanings and intentions are not mispresented to or misinterpreted by the student. In his/her use of voice he/she should stimulate the learner's interest and
eagerness to lear-His/her instructions must be clear and not too wordy.
(d)
An exemplar
In his daily classroom association, the teacher plays an
outstanding role in shaping a
pupil's lifetime behavior. The press, radio libraries, television, movies, social agencies, church and
home also make contributions to a student's education. The teacher, however, is the principal public
agent for guiding youths toward maturity. The teacher s example is as important, if not more
important, than what he/she teaches. It is often said that "what you do makes so much noise I
cannot hear what you say". Teachers should realize that in their vocation r: ideal but the highest is
good enough. They should endeavor to make themselves worthy of their great calling. This
places heavier responsibilities on the teacher. Before independence, the teacher ended his job soon
as he has succeeded in teaching the child the 3RS. Today, he must not only acquaint a child with
these basics but also prepare hi-for family life, healthful living, a vocation and for social and civil
responsibilities. The learning experiences children encounter depend to a large extent upon the
teacher. The willingness of youths to apply themselves, the interest they have in the pursuit of
truth, their acquaintance with the finest expression of human thought, and the
development of their potentials are markedly influenced by the ability of the teacher to lead by
example and thus be an influencer.
Van Dalen and Van Dalen (1966) succinctly described the teacher as follows: The teacher
is the ultimate agent of education. No matter what appears in the official course of study, it is the
teacher who sets the daily tasks for the pupils or who helps them develop a plan of work. It is he/she
who approves, sanctions or condemns their habits, their studies, their personality qualities. If
education is ever to have any genuine influence in shaping character, to giving insight into life, the
teacher will be the agent who carries this influence.
Whether children engage in purposeful learning or are permitted to dabble in confusion;
whether they strive for excellence in their chosen field, or they develop a love for the pursuit of truth or
are satisfied with superficial attainment, develop the capacity to appraise their talents and adjust their
lives accordingly or are unable to weigh their abilities and face reality depends upon the guidance,
influence and inspiration of the teacher. A teacher who is an example of the highest expression of
human thinking and living subtly contributes to the building of desirable behavior patters in children.
(e)
An artist
As Banjo (1954), puts it. a good teacher is an artist. He/she loves his work and he/she gives
his/her whole heart and mind to it; he/she is always planning how to do it better. In planning how to do
his/her work better, he/she finds him/herself preparing diagrams, illustrations, models, charts and other
aid materials. He/she goes about this painstakingly as much as an artist does.
(f)
Shows enthusiasm
Banjo (1954) wrote that the enthusiasm and thoroughness with which the teacher does his/her
work is reflected in the children he/she is teaching. He/she takes the job as a full-time job and is
rarely off duty. While the good teacher is most concerned with the progress of work in his/her own
class, he/she is a member of a team of teachers and as such he/she is interested in the progress and
well-being of the whole school. He/she places his/her special talents e.g. (in music, athletics, first aid,
scouting etc) at the disposal of the school. At staff meetings, he/she contributes his/her ideas on
methods, discipline, organization and policy thereby making him/herself a valuable member of the
team. He/she is friendly, fair, and polite to students and at the same time he/she is firm, upright and
work with dignity. As it is stressed by Ikejiani (1964), such attitudes do not come easily and it seldom
comes at all in a person who does not first respect him/herself.
(g)
A student him/herself
In expressing the quality of a teacher, Hanson (1964) stated that a teacher never ceases to
be a student him/herself and goes ahead to affirm that a teacher who has ceased to learn has ceased
to teach. An attribute of the practice teacher is to be willing to learn form all source; (Mass Media.
Library, Journals, history, Artistry etc) on the one hand and be willing to learn as he/she is teaching,
on the other hand. A student teacher feels elated after a lesson when he/she had learnt a new thing
idea or method even from his/her students. This type of teacher, finds “he/she has not thought about
an idea raised' or "has not thought that way". The teacher must "Learn so that he/she may teach".
Closely related is that the teacher should be a knowledge seeker, one, in the content of the subject
he/she is teaching, he/she should give out facts and information to students and have a firm grip of
the subject matter" two, in the relevance of the facts to human life and three, two, in the relevance of
the facts to human life and three, on the effect of the knowledge on the behaviour of students. Does
it motivate them? Is the information, contemporary? etc.
(h)
An Inquisitive Person
The teacher must have an insatiable urge for enquiry. In doing this, he should be proud of
producing a sense of enquiry in his students Education is fast becoming less teacher-centred where
he pushes information down the throat of his/her students. Such teachers teach tradition and teach
traditionally, never injecting life into their lessons Moreover, the uninquisitive teachers never allows
students' input and only teach to maintain the status quo of the school, community or the society
which inevitably remains retrogressive and leaves the lesson boring and the students bored.
The way teachers kill their inquisitive instinct and those of thei r students fall into three areas:
One, is the abuse of question period; the questions are either cheapened, or made unchallenging.
Sometimes they are poorly worded and distributed. Some teachers even resort to ridiculing students
who are good enough to ask sound questions. Two students and teachers are only left to copying old
and archaic rhythms procedures and topics. Such classes are popular for their rehearsing of
memorized verses and portions. A teacher should be able to bring about reconstruction, and use of
new ideas to enhance and modernise his teaching. Three, teachers trying to muffle off a good
question simply because they cannot produce an immediate answer. This attitude kills the sense of
enquiry in students and shows that the teacher him/herself lacks a sense of enquiry. A good teacher
must accompany his/her sense of enquiry with creativity, spontaneity and innovation. This rids the
lesson of rigidity and lack of lustre.
(i)
Ability to fuse pride with humility, Integrity and Courage
In discussing this attribute, the author has no other avenue than to recount Harison's (1964)
view; that the humility that come to the teacher when he/she considers the precious materials with
which he/she works-the ideas, the National trust, the future itself, the fair pride of the artist - pride not
always in success but in his/her students; pride that comes from giving him/herself whole heartedly to his/her calling. It is the doing of his/her work that he/she finds his/her integrity, it is the
sense of his/her mission that he/her finds courage. All of these bring about the greatness that is in
teaching.
(f)
Have a Sense of Professionalism
The teacher belongs to a professional body and must therefore 22 things that uplift his/her
association and enhance the teaching profession. He/she should also act according to the dictates
of the profession. Any young individual nursing the ambition of picking up teaching as a career must
acquire professional as well as academic qualification(s). It has been opined in certain quarters that
the teacher must possess a teachers' certificate even if this is at the most basic level of the TC II.
Others that qualify as professional teachers are those with Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE),
B.Sc. (Ed), B.A (Ed) or the B.Ed Degrees; and of course the Post-graduate Diploma In Education
(PGDE) or those with Associateship Certificate in Education (ACE). Teaching is-fast becoming
professionalised that an attribute of the teacher is to be professionally qualified. The student
teacher must therefore strive to gain this professional status.
Conclusion
The analysis of the attribute of a teacher have revealed that a teacher is "born" when he/her
possesses the qualities that mark him/her out as a potentially good teacher and that a teacher is
"made" when
he/she has received through training the benefit of the experience of generations of teachers
who have worked before him/her. Those who are not 'born' teachers can cultivate through
training enough of the qualities of a good teacher to enable them do good work (Banjo, 195).
According to a number of educationists (Chenoweth & Selkirk, 1953; Banjo, 1954; Van Dalen &
Van Dalen, 1956; Ikejiani, Hanson, Okeke & Anowi, 1964; Adedeji, 1985; Idowu, 1998), these
qualities and attribute; are that both the teacher-in-training and on the field must;
(a)
have the right attitude and interest;
(b)
have a healthy disposition;
(c)
have passable language ability;
(d)
be an exemplar;
(e)
be an artist;
(f)
be enthusiastic about his profession;
(g)
be a student himself;
(h)
be an inquisitive person;
(i)
be humble, courageous, proud and have integrity in matching quantities; and
(j)
have a sense of professionalism.
References
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of London Press.
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