If you ask a student what makes him or her successful in school, you probably won’t hear about some fantastic new book or video lecture series. Most likely you will hear something like, “It was all Mr. Jones. He just never gave up on me.”
What students take away from a successful education usually centers on a personal connection with a teacher who instilled passion and inspiration for their subject.
It’s difficult to measure success, and in the world of academia, educators are continually re-evaluating how to quantify learning—but the first and most important question to ask is: Are teachers reaching their students?