In my life as a citizen, student and future teacher of this society many experiences account for what the true portrait of a teacher is. The pondering question is what "skills and disciplines" are necessary for a teacher to establish a classroom environment that stimulates critical thinking and inquiry? Both the dispositions and skills of a teacher are vital ways in which the overall classroom is run. A teacher with a positive attitude who is stable, responsible, caring and comforting yet professional allows for students to admire and respect this individual. A teacher with the ability to be understanding and patient drives a student to be eager to learn at a pace and technique suitable for them. Judging upon my own personal experience I have found that added humor when appropriate drives students to relax and enjoy learning rather than look at it as a punishment. Versatility is a skill that is extremely important. Being able and willing to make exceptions and changes to teaching techniques or different learning styles improves the success of the overall classroom. Having structure and positive discipline creates a stable learning atmosphere. The ability to constructively criticize makes students aware of their options or mistakes in their learning, which in turn drives them to strive to better themselves. And lastly, a creative classroom makes learning a fun and unique experience. All of the above skills and dispositions add to the stimulation of critical thinking and inquiry within a classroom. As a student I needed a teacher that possessed these qualities in order to learn. During my younger educational career I often found myself physically in the classroom but not mentally. When a teaching style was not to my liking I basically blocked out all of the given information and paid attention to things that seemed more important at the time such as staring out the classroom window at other children walking by, flicking my pen cap or doodling in my notebook.
