What makes a better Teacher? Choose which teacher you want?

Question

If you had to choose between 2 people to be your teacher who would you pick
1) Genius
2) Had an average of 85% or more in university
3)someone who struggled in their university degree but graduated...so like average between 65%-80%

Who would you choose and why?

I'm asking this question b/c Universities are only accepting those with a high average rather then those who have a lower average and have way mre expereince in the field of there subject.

Answer 1

I would pick 3 .. and the reason why.. because they would be a normal person. Normal people can relate better to kids or people in school. They wouldn't intimidate you to where you wouldn't feel comfortable asking for help more then likely. And they would have alot to offer. Just because you struggle doesn't mean your not as worth the job as others are who had no problems.

Answer 2

I'm not sure if you've thought through options because #1 is much different than #2 and #3.

Choices #2 and #3 relate to academic performance.

Choice #1, "Genius" relates to the individual's intelligence. A genius is someone who is much smarter than average (even smarter than most people who might otherwise be considered gifted). However, you didn't indicate that this had anything to do with their academic performance. Just because they are a genius, I can't assume they are knowledgeable about the area of education that I am... Maybe they are a genius when it comes to writing poetry, but not for solving partial differential equations? See what I mean?

None of your choices suggest that the person is hard working, good with people, an effective communicator, inspiring, or even knowledgeable about the particular subject they'd be teaching. So for the purpose of your question, we have to assume that we are talking about candidates who are equal in every respect other than the three choices you've presented us with. I'm not willing to assume that any of those traits would be stronger in any particular teacher simply due to their intellect and/or academic record.

Given that: I'd want the most knowledgeable and competent teacher possible, which is choice #2. The genius is only useful to me if they also happen to be knowledgeable about the subject I'm going to learn. (Based on how you describe #2, "85% or more in university," some of the people who achieve #2 might be geniuses anyway).

If I had the opportunity to get taught by a genius who was also very successful academically, I'd jump a the chance. Who wouldn't want to be taught by a Richard Feynman?

Answer 3

I would choose #2, because they would be able to field questions with reasonable authority. They have the content knowledge necessary to do their job well.
Also, someone like this (and I may be stereotyping here) would have more people skills and would be able to connect with and relate to students better. I think that this type of person is the type that I liked the best in all levels of my schooling, from Kindergarten through Graduate school.

Choosing #3 would be a bad idea because their grade may reflect work ethic more than intelligence, and this person may very well be a disorganized, unreliable teacher.
If work ethic is not the reason, then they may not be able to teach the students who are of higher intelligence and those students would suffer from lack of being challenged.

With the type of #1, they may teach above the student abilities and may lack the interpersonal skills necessary to be an effective communicator. I had a few of these types as college professors, and they often stifled student thinking if the students disagreed with the professor's perspective. They were generally closed minded and the communication was unidirectional.

Answer 4

# 2. A genius often has a hard time explaining things on a level that the average person understands. A person with as low as a 65% probably did more than just struggle. That is a D. I would want someone that was at least a little above average.

Answer 5

If I have to pick from your choices, then I would number 2.

why:
Because the genius may not realize that not everyone learns at the rate that he did, with his retention skills either, so his teaching may be a bit more fast paced then I might be comfortable with.
And not number 3, because although this person did graduate, I might feel that I might not be getting all the information that I need to be educated on the subject.
Number 2:graduated in the normal range and therefor probably had the same study habits and retention skills as the majority of his classmates and so would expect the same rate from his students, putting the student more at ease with the teacher.

Answer 6

I'd pick #2.

Person #1 may be a genius, but as a result, if learning comes naturally to them, they likely would have more trouble relating to people who have more difficulty learning.

Person #3 may be able to relate more to you when you are learning, but will not necessarily have enough information to be an authority on the subject they are teaching. It is important that they have learned a good amount of information on the topic being taught.

Person #2 would more likely be a balance of knowing the material and being able to relate it to others. Of course, in life there are no guarantees!

Answer 7

2) Well, I would want someone that was effective in conveying information in an interesting and fun way to others. Typically a genuis has difficulty talking about information in an interesting way as they are very cerebral. I would go for the average of 85% because I would assume that person had a reasonable interest in knowledge and also in social activity. The final choice probably had too much interest in socializing to learn anything of interest.

Answer 8

I would choose number 3 because that is the kind of teacher I am...

I struggled through university and high school, but as soon as I did my masters in teaching, i was at a 4.0 GPA....

Bottom line, I love my job. I love my kids and everything else that teaching is and can be. A teacher is not measured by their marks... A teacher is measured by the impact they can have on a childs life.

Your best bet is to check out schools in Buffalo. Not only do they look at your volunteer work and extra curriculars, they don't rely only on marks...

Good luck!

Answer 9

I would choose number 2. I don't want a teacher who's a totally genius and gives the class crap about how when he or she was in school they did this and got 100% I don't want to have them show me up and make me feel like my best is not good at all. I want a teacher who knows what their doing and still has room to learn from the students.

Answer 10

I would have to say answer 2. I feel that someone with a Genius level would be more of an instructor rather than a true teacher. They have things come to them so easily, and they are used to having instructors teach them. They are used to the methodology and would employ what they know as a style of teaching.

Answer 11

A good teacher is a teacher that can translate complicated information to meaningful and useful information for the student. Sucess should be fostered and encouraged. An average teacher will produce an average student.