I'd love to hear about characteristics of great teachers your kids have had.
Hmmm...Teacher qualities...
Well, training in gifted education is obviously a biggie. The school should be providing continuing ed in the field at the very least, I think. If the teachers don't have any sense of how a bored gifted kid looks or how to challenge him/her, they're not going to be effective teachers.
Respect for students as whole people, not just as "walking brains" would rank high on my list. They can't be intimidated by the kids they're there to teach, but they have to respect the kids and their abilities and treat them with respect. (Too often this doesn't happen, even with kids who MG or vanilla GT.) Neither condescension nor awe work well.
Allowing--even encouraging--the kids to make mistakes without fear of ridicule or even subtle pressure to be perfect seems to me to be part of this. "Safe" risk-taking and resiliance in the face of failure are important skills that HG+ kids rarely get the chance to learn, and they're vital skills. Teach these kids how to take a cognitive leap and fail and try again!
The understanding that there's more than one way to find the answer to a math problem and more than one way to meet a writing assignment. Gifted kids often see things differently than other people, and that difference in vision needs to be respected, cultivated. Be clear about whether the point of an assignment is product or process, and respond to any deviations in the way the kids do the work accordingly.
A respect for kids' bodies. They need physical activity every day or many of them get cranky and difficult. Taking away recess shouldn't be part of the disciplinary arsenal. Make them walk laps for all of recess, sure. But don't lock them up. That's just dumb.
A willingness to use creative, unconventional teaching methods. I would think that mentorships from the wider community would be very important to these kids, especially as the kids get older, but from a lot younger age than most people would imagine. Think "resource guide" more than teacher, I guess. What I mean is that while it's nice to have a teacher who is an expert in the field, it's probably more important to have a humble teacher who is willing to *find* experts in the field as needed. One teacher won't be able to be all things to all kids, even in a single subject. These kids often like to specialize; the teacher has to be willing and able to go with that.
A love of teaching. If they don't love teaching, nothing else is going to matter.
A sincere interest in gifted education. This can't be just another teaching gig for them. They're going to have to care about the cause or they won't last.
An analytical mind. The teachers I've liked best were able to look at what wasn't working in the classroom (or at what was) and figure out why. They were constantly making things better for the particular needs of the kids in that particular class that particular year.
A willingness to try new things but not to innovate simply for the sake of innovation. Think "Make new friends, but keep the old": no yellowed notes from the turn of the last century, but also keeping the things that work.
I'll keep thinking...
