Teachers have a huge job. Preparing our children for the future is a responsibility second to none. However, going to college and getting a degree that says your are a teacher will not make you the best teacher. It will make you capable of being the best teacher. It is finding the best way to convey an idea to your students, in a way that keeps them interested in learning, that makes a great teacher. And there are plenty of great teachers out there. There are as many diverse learning techniques as there are students. Almost every child out there learns in their own way.
When there are no learning disabilities in play, as there are special classes for this, a teacher may still find it difficult to reach every student. Gone are the days when the teacher said to do it and the student did it. Teachers today need to keep up with not only technology, but the ever changing role of the parent, as well as cultural stumbling blocks and children dealing with so many different social situations it is impossible to know everything about them.
The teachers goal is to get the work done, and towards the end of each year the students need to take the standardized testing for their grade. Playing games with younger children is a good way to prepare them for the testing. With the older children, eighth grade and up, study groups and group activities, where the students can give each other their own ideas about test taking are great tools. Constantly reiterating to the kids that these tests are not do or die, but the ruler by which they measure the efficacy of the curriculum can help to make it easier. Until standardized testing is not longer needed to measure our education system, teachers can do their students the best service by preparing them and calming their fears for taking the tests.