Humanising Language Teaching
Year 2; Issue 4; July 2000

"The Essence of a Teacher"

by Kyozo Suzuki, Japan

1. The teacher as a student of English

Eyes	to look at each other
Mouth	to speak joyfully
Ears	To listen to other people's opinions
Hair	to have one's own opinions sprouting from one's head.

2. The teacher with his/her students

Eyes	to look at all the students	like a chameleon
Mouth	to speak so students understand easily	like a wolf
Ears	to listen to students' opinions	like a puma
Hair	to have my own opinions and ways of seeing things	like a bear

3. Teacher Qualities

A teacher must have intensity and vigor to help the students.
Students must be able to rely on the teacher.
A teacher must a person of strong faith.

A teacher needs to be an actor.
I must be able to play in my class to attract students into wanting to study English.

In my English lessons I put on my sunglasses and say:
"I am from London and I can't speak Japanese, so please speak to me in English"

After class some students follow me around to find proof that I am not English!

I must get myself into a normal state of mind even if I have had trouble with my wife in the morning.

If necessary, I must get angry and scold the students.

When one student mistreats another I get seriously angry.
When a student plays near a high window and I feel it is dangerous I get angry and stop them.

The teacher must be a rescuer
The teacher must be a policeperson
The teacher must be a superman/woman

4. Being a scholar

The teacher must be professional: s/he must study	the language English habits and customs international behaviour
The teacher must be cosmopolitan.
A good teacher has a pocket: this pocket holds in it:	good ways of teaching knowledge materials for the study of English

Maybe I want to put teaching theory in that pocket, too.

5. Ways of being with students.

A teacher must be a fortune-teller to support the students

S/he needs to be sympathetic to the students.

A teacher must understand how the student is.

A teacher must take pleasure in talking to students.

A teacher must like playing with students.

A teacher must understand that all students are all different

A teacher must know the personality and potential of each student.

A teacher must have an idea of how society will develop in the future.

A teacher must have lots of knowledge about High Schools and jobs.

( editorial note: compared to Japanese teachers, European and South American teachers are part-timers. The Japanese State School teacher will often get to school at 8.00 am and leave the premises 12 hours later. Home room teachers will sometimes pick up students who miss school from their homes. The police report teenage misbehaviour in public places to home room teachers first and to the parents second. When a kid leaves school the home room teacher acts as an employment agency for him/her)

One week-end in two will be taken up with excursions, sports coaching and club activities. Officially, teacher have long holidays. In reality teachers will never take more than three weeks off in a year.

You part-time teachers from outside Japan may find this useful background for reading Suzuki San's article. )