How and Why should one Teach?

Why do we teach?
Some may feel called to and others may feel it is their duty. Some may want make up for a teacher who wasn't very great and some may want to make a difference in a child's life as one of their teachers did for them. Whatever the reason, those who enter the field of education are hoping to prepare their students in important life skills, both in relationships and in preparation for a future career. They have taken classes, observed, and researched all in hopes of becoming a teacher that makes a difference in the lives of their students.

What is the difference between school "work" and student "learning?"
School work is meant to be used to practice what they learned in class. It is given after a lesson or during the lesson to ensure that the students are understanding what they were taught during class. Teachers can use this to check for understanding and then may assign work to be brought home which will help keep the material they learned fresh in their mind several hours after learning it.
Student learning in contrast is what takes place during the actual lesson and while doing school and homework. It is a cognitive process stimulated by inquiry, observation, trial and error, explanations with examples, demonstrations, etc. There really isn't a limit of ways in promoting student learning, especially since each student learns through different approaches and strategies. However, the teacher takes a backseat in this process and let's the students learn for themselves. They learn by themselves or from other students instead of being lectured to by a teacher although the teacher can give suggestions, topics or guidelines.

What makes for good teaching?
For a teacher to be effective, they need to be open, patient, creative, passionate, flexible, knowledgeable, personable, and good at managing time. Teaching takes an extremely large amount of time, effort, and energy. For these reasons, teachers need to be able to change their plan or lesson at a moments notice, provide creative activities that vary, but still promotes learning, checks for understanding, and gives an adequate representation of the material learned. They should also be comfortable in the material they are teaching and understanding that each student learns differently, works at different paces, and comes from different backgrounds and cultures. Teachers should love what they do and care about their students as individuals as well as students. Each class is only so long and the teacher needs to be able to get through the material in time and provide activities that go along with the lesson. They should also provide appropriate discipline to avoid conflicts and disruptions in class.