If there was a perfect formula on how to be the best teacher, we would have seen it by now and we would have proof that it works.  When I hear a teacher, admin, non-teacher, or anyone else say, "oh, all you have to do this this or that", I immediatly tune them out.  A program that will guarentee results?  Nope, tune it right out.  

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One year I listened to a 3rd grade teacher lecture us middle school teachers on how to have the kids walk in the hallway by explainging her line up procedures.  All of us middle schoolers sat there in complete confusion that this educator was actually comparing her 3rd graders (no hormones) with our puberty, hormonal middle schoolers.

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Each grade, school, class, teacher, and kid are totally different, which is what makes education is so hard.

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What I like to do when giving advice to any new teacher or anyone is to offer a theme or tid bits that may help, but I always preference with, "there is no correct way, but feel free to use my ideas, use them, tweak them, or don't use at all".

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I like to think of a perfect formula on teaching more as perfect themes and then the teacher fills in the rest.

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For example, quality educators are know for having good classroom management.  So, that is the theme, it is up to the teacher to do what works for them and their kids.  A teacher in downtown Chicago will have much different routines than the Beverly HIlls 90210 AP World History class.

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Here are some themes that I have seen are common among quality educators (with tips that can get your brain storming going)

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1) Good classroom management

• Set routines make transitions easier

• Clear and fair rules with clear and fair consequences

• Efficient communication with parents (Not to little, not too much, not too negative, not fictious positively, etc)

• Being prepared with a lesson that moves and has very little downtime

• Constant tweaking of the classroom as the year progresses

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2) Good repor with students

• Find out something about each child and each day talk to a couple kids that is specific to them

• Find out what the kids like and put it in your lessons or classroom (EX:  Yo yos were big one year so I had a reward for a super yo yo and time set aside to have kids demontrate yo yo tricks

• Find out why the behavior kid is having issues.  Ask and work on how to help the student.  I had a kid one year that had a tough home life and didn't have simple toiliety items, so a few times a year I would ask him what he wanted and went out and got him basic stuff.  Another kid didn't have food at home like others and was just hungry a lot (the free lunches were not exactly appetizing) so I took an empty locker, put a lock on it, and filled it with food that he could get whenever he wanted.

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3) Quality lessons

• Lessons have a nice flow

• Teachers know when to scrap a lesson that isn't working

• A step ladder approach to learning.  Starts at the level of the students and gradually get harder

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4) Is able to differentiate in the classroom to all the different learning abilities

• Use technology to help

• Is able to present lessons that all students can follow at the start 

• Is able to have a few different things going on the classroom to accommodate all levels

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5) Is able to dissconnect from their job

• The kid with the bad home life and cruddy parent(s) can weigh anyone down.  Veteran teacher help all they can and then is able to disconnect to stay productive as a teacher

• The crazy parent bothers everyone, but a good teacher knows how to deal emotionally with this and let it go

• Constant grading and planning is not productive.  A quality teacher knows how to do it efficiently and knows when to just say, "I will pull out an old lesson and give myself a break"