Spotlight on Jo McCleay - Melbourne, Australia

I spent some time this morning enjoying some caffeine and blog hopping through several teacher blogs. I ventured into The Open Classroom a blog maintained by Jo McCleay an educator from Melbourne, Australia. Two observations:

First and foremost, I am in awe of the number of educators who take the time and effort to publish their observations, frustrations, and pontifications to a growing of audience of teachers around the world.

Secondly, I wish more teachers new to the profession would take advantage of the "reservoir of wisdom" to counteract some of the infectious lunch room negativity that can consumes teachers young and old. Jo included thoughts from Bernard Percy found in the June 2002 edition of Converge. I thought were worth passing on. Simply stated ...

WHAT MAKES A GREAT TEACHER?
1. They have high standards and expectations that they won't compromise.
2. They dare to dream of truly making a difference in their students' lives.
3. They're the "restless" individuals, innovative thinkers. They don't want to adapt or conform to the world around them, when that world has limited expectations of what a teacher can do or achieve.
4. They challenge students to think differently, innovatively, and not merely adjust to their environment.
5. They're comfortable in a space with motion, action and innovative thinking.
6. They help students find their true purposes; develop their unique, special talents; and ensure they develop certainty in their ability to overcome obstacles and achieve their dreams.
7. They create space for students to find and develop belief in their own potential.
8. They create special, positive moments where a student has a realization or experience that positively affects his or her life, forever.
9. They seek the real barriers that prevent students from learning, i.e., helping students learn the skills, gain the knowledge, and develop their abilities to be problem solvers.
10. They never see the child only as a statistic or number, but as worthy of the recognition of his or her own individuality.
11. They strive to put and keep the joy in learning.
12. They're willing to find the magic residing in each child.
13. They're dream makers, not dream breakers.

Jo's blog has all the things I am looking for as I bloghop. Insightful content, valuable links, and sources of inspiration. Nicely done Jo!