ABSTRACT
All educators who are serious about their profession have examined the characteristics of effective teachers at some point in their college studies or during their career. Often, professors or staff development facilitators will ask a room full of teachers their opinion as to what traits are essential for great teachers. Each time I run across such a list in my reading, I pore over the characteristics with interest. Of all the lists I have examined, the one I included for teachers to peruse in the following Friday Focus is my favorite and seems to capture the essence of what makes an effective teacher at any level, from elementary school through graduate school.
