Perhaps the most obvious quality that super teachers have in common is their ability to make all children feel their worth. "When children believe in themselves they start to learn better," one of the super teachers I worked with always said.
Some people who knew that super teacher might say that she was tough. She had that reputation because she insisted on follow-through. She required her primary-level students to read and to complete special projects. She had high evaluation standards that included no excuses for not doing homework assignments.
That teacher always told parents that she had such high expectations because she wanted her students to learn. Students with the skills and self-confidence she taught would be successful as they moved up the grades, she said.
Did such high expectations and standards turn off parents who thought the teacher was putting too much pressure on their children? Not at all. Many parents made specific requests that their children be placed in her classroom.
That same teacher was as enthusiastic about life as she was about teaching and her students. She said the enthusiasm she saw in the new teachers who joined our school "family" was giving our school a new life and personality, and that those new teachers also stimulated her to do her best.
Read more practical tips from George Pawlas…
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Meet Dr. George E. Pawlas
George E. Pawlas has written the book on PR for school principals -- literally! In The Administrator's Guide to School-Community Relations, Pawlas presents a treasury of practical tips and strategies for principals. The book includes hundreds of principal-tested ideas, illustrations, and templates to help you
create successful school newsletters and other communication tools;
use the media to your school's advantage;
enhance parent and family involvement;
work with the community and local businesses;
deal with crisis situations; and
much more.
Pawlas has been an educator for nearly four decades. He has served as an elementary school teacher and principal, a district administrator, and a state education department consultant. Currently he is a professor of educational leadership at the University of Central Florida. In addition, Pawlas has authored dozens of articles and coauthored three editions of a book on educational supervision. He is a frequent presenter at local and national conferences.
George Pawlas's
George E. Pawlas has written the book on PR for school principals -- literally! In 
