许多人都会记得小时候的某位老师，在读书时给予我们正面的影响。当我们对比对这些老师的评价时，我们会发现他们身上的品质都是相同的：
他们会激励鼓舞学生。他们热爱并熟悉自己的学科，喜欢教书，激情饱满，感染人心，激励我们学习和成长。
文：Marcel G. Gauthier（上海美国外籍人员子女学校校长）
图：学校提供
他们关爱学生。他们关爱每个孩子，将他们视为普通的个体，而不只是学生。他们关心学生的幸福、进步和成功。学生在课堂上的成长对他们而言很重要，他们的行动也表现出了对学生的重视。
他们激励学生挑战自我：他们推动学生走出舒适区，去发掘自己的新潜力，不让学生故步自封，只做天生擅长的事。
激励鼓舞、关爱学生、挑战自我，这是成为一名优秀教师的核心品质。我们知道，学生不会记得上过的每堂课和每次作业的内容，却会铭记那些改变他们一生的老师。
但是世界变了，优秀教师的品质也随之而变。当今世界对一名优秀教师的要求是什么？
协作：“我的课堂”、“我的学生”、“我的课程”，这种以教师为中心的旧模式已经无法满足需求。一名优秀的教师不会单打独斗，而是要与其他教师协作，为所有学生提供支持。“我们的学生”、“我们的学校”、“我们的课程”，才是当今的教育准则。现代职场需要积极合作，这也是优秀教师所应具备的品质。
更多地关注技能而不是知识：获取知识很重要，这一点永远也不会变。数学公式、历史事件、化学成分……但是，随着技术突飞猛进，现在的人想要获取知识，只需鼠标轻轻一点。优秀教师不会将自己定位为知识的来源，而是专注于如何运用知识去解决现实世界中的问题，将知识与现实联系起来。
成长心态：优秀的教师具有终身学习的热情，这也是他们对学生的期待。他们在工作中成长，提高本领，尝试新的教学策略，不断挑战自我。他们从不停止学习的脚步，在言传身教中让学生拥有持续学习的能力。
不囿于课堂：教室之外的世界正等待着学生去探索，无论是现实的世界，还是虚拟的世界。优秀的教师知道，课堂不是学习的起点，亦不是终点，学习不止于课堂。
强烈的道德责任感：当今世界面临着社会、经济、环境、政治及技术等多方面挑战，需要全社会共同承担责任，才能攻克这些挑战。优秀的教师将会提醒我们，学习的目的不在于争名逐利，而在于让世界变得更美好。
出色的教育从未如此与时代接轨，对此我们应予以支持、肯定、投入、赞扬。我们的孩子应该拥有这样杰出的教师，不仅是为了孩子的成长，也是为了打造一个美好的世界。
不囿于课堂
2019年10月21日，一群勇敢的5年级学生发起“五年级微校园”活动（Microcampus 5），他们来到云南的一个小村庄生活和学习。此次活动是上海美国学校“微校园”项目的延伸，该项目屡获殊荣，由“门外”项目的主任Craig Tafel牵头。每位学生由一名家长陪同，寄宿在美丽的喜洲村里。他们依靠当地专家的帮助，完成各项挑战，增进了对其他社区的了解，并以学习者的身份成长。
强烈的道德责任感
“关爱珊瑚”之旅是上海美国学校的一个特色项目，中学生们能够在活动中学习水肺潜水的技巧，提高对海洋生态系统的认识，参与现实世界的保护活动。除了学习潜水、参观环保服务，中学教师Kevin David和Stephen Carozza还与Stairway Foundation合作，学习他们改善海洋环境和世界的故事，令活动得到升华。
Many of us remember a teacher from our youth, one who had a positive influence when we were in school. When we compare notes about that teacher, the qualities are very much the same:
They were inspiring. They loved their subject area and knew it well, they loved to teach, and their enthusiasm was contagious. They inspired us to learn and grow.
They cared. They took an interest in us as individuals, showed a concern for our well-being, our progress and our success. How we fared in their class mattered to them and they showed it.
They challenged us: They pushed us to move beyond our comfort zone and see new capabilities in ourselves. They did not let us settle or what we did naturally well.
These qualities—inspiration, caring and challenge—are still at the heart of what makes a great teacher. We know that students rarely remember individual lessons or homework; they do remember the teachers who made a difference in their lives.
However, the world has changed, and what makes a great teacher has changed with it. What does the world today demand from great teachers?
Collaboration: The old model of my class, my students, my curriculum is no longer adequate. The best teachers are not private contractors; they work in collaboration with their peers to support all students. Our students, our school, our curriculum is now the mantra. The modern workplace demands dynamic collaboration—great teachers model that quality.
Focus on skills more than knowledge: Acquiring knowledge will always be important. A mathematical formula, a historical fact, a chemical composition…However, with today’s technology, knowledge is just a click away. Great teachers do not position themselves as the source of knowledge; instead they focus on applying knowledge to real world problems and issues. They make knowledge relevant.
Growth Mindset: Great teachers model the very passion for lifelong learning that they expect in their students. They grow in their profession, refine their craft, challenge themselves with new teaching strategies. They model continuous learning, so the students embrace it.
Not bound by classroom walls: The world outside the walls of the classroom is waiting, both in actual and virtual terms. Great teachers know learning does not begin and end in the classroom; it reaches beyond it.
Deep sense of ethical responsibility: Today’s world poses social, economic, environmental, political and technological challenges that only a commitment to shared responsibility can overcome. Great teachers remind us that learning has a purpose beyond achieving accolades; it is about making a better world.
Great teaching has never been more relevant than it is today. We need to support it, acknowledge it, invest in it, celebrate it. Our children should all experience a great teacher in their lives, not only for their own growth, but for a better world.
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