Teaching in an effective manner is the most detrimental part of being a teacher. Teachers who posses the skills to teach effectively while also interacting effectively with their students and peers, are the ones who make the up-most difference in determining whether a child succeeds in school or not. Teachers not only have the expectations of teaching subject material, but they also have a tremendous amount of social influences that take part in their students" lives. Effective teachers know not only how to educate their students academic-wise, but they also have the ability to interact in a positive way with their students, while also dealing with many social and cultural influences within and outside of the classroom.
Knowledge of subject matter, presentation of ideas, and organization of the material being covered are all factors as to how a teacher can be effective in the classroom. Teachers need to know the material they present to their class inside and out. Teachers who graduate from college with good grades in their subject-area outshine others with worse grades, because they clearly know their material a lot better. Just knowing the subject material will not make a teacher effective, however. The way that the teacher presents the information to the classroom, and the ways that teachers plan their curriculum is the most vital step in becoming a successful teacher. For instance, one teacher may have graduated at the top of his class with a 4.0 in Psychology. He/she definitely knows his/her subject material, but do they truly know how to present the material to the class in a useful manner? Lecturing for hours about psychology may not be as successful for the students" learning as would be involving the students with the teacher and having ongoing discussions to make sure that each and every one of the students is actually absorbing the information. Being enthusiastic and positive about the subject-material will rub-off on the students, and will have a much more lasting-effect in their remembrance of the material being covered.
