The problem with quantifying "good teaching" are myriad. Clearly the first, and foremost, issue is that the purpose of 99 44/100% of all such efforts is to increase efficiency and enhance the ability of administrators to discipline their labor force.
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Absolutely.
I could say that what all the great teachers I've known had in common was the fact that they knew their shit inside and out, but clearly that would not be enough, because you also have to be able to convey what you know, which is hard to measure. Some students get it immediately; others get it years later; still others might not get the subject matter taught, but are still inspired by the teacher's knowledge and respect for truth.
Here's my list:
Miss Peischel: English, Jr. High School. Knew her shit and called you on your shit. Made me realize that even though I read fat books, my sentences still needed subjects and predicates.
Mrs Mason: French, High School. Worked like a coolie to make sure everyone learned. Would be bathed in sweat by the end of class. Made you feel like a total flake if you didn't learn the stuff.
Mrs Wunch: Calculus, High School. Knew everybody's name the first week. Could explain anything to anybody. Kind of like Billie Holiday, never the same explanation twice. You'd get the explanation you needed every time. (Down-side, made Calculus too easy to learn....therefore harder to retain....not that I wanted to.)
Hayden White: Intellectual History, UCLA. Wonderful watching his mind at work. Learned how to do analysis that included history. Made it that much easier to understand Marx once I got to him.
Stephen Yenser: English, UCLA. Made it respectable and cool to be passionate about poetry. Took infinite pains with students' writing in his creative writing poetry class.
Can't remember his name: English, UC Berkeley. Gave me permission to read anybody I wanted in the 19th century for the required bibliography/research methods class. Picked Marx. Never looked back.
Julian Boyd: English, UC Berkley. Smart and actually interested in subject matter (philosophy of language) as opposed to status/tenure/etc. Took students seriously. Delightful potty mouth.
Can't remember her name: Latin Workshop, U.C. Berkeley. Only teacher I ever had who actually spent time teaching us how to learn. Since we had to learn Latin in ten weeks, this was invaluable.
Ronn Guidi: artistic director/teacher Oakland Ballet. Created a space within which each student could become the best dancer possible. Miraculous results. Students gave him all they had to give and then some. Gentle manner. His oft repeated injunction: "Surprise me!"
I've had lots of teachers I've liked, but these really did stand out.
-- knew their shit -- cared about truth and beauty -- cared about students: how and whether they learned -- made students take themselves seriously
How the hell can you quantify that?
Joanna