Almost everyone remembers their fourth-grade elementary teacher. Almost everyone remembers at least one high school teacher they made fun of, or hated. Some have been lucky enough to have been influenced by a dedicated, passionate teacher, one who made an effort at developing a relationship with students and who may have passed on a life truth sprinkled in with the subject material.

What are the characteristics of an effective teacher in public education?

I asked a few people that question last week. Some believe a good teacher can explain material clearly and concisely and in a way that students can understand and feel challenged to continue learning outside the classroom.

Others told me that a good teacher has a thorough grounding in his or her discipline and an enthusiasm for their subject and a desire to convey that enthusiasm to their students.

Someone else suggested that good teachers are patient, adjust their teaching style to different learning styles and make an effort to develop a relationship with their students.

I would have to agree with all of the above. After experiencing some frustrating moments as a student last week, and since I’m in training to become a teacher myself, I began asking myself what kind of teacher I hope to become.

I won’t pretend to have extensive knowledge about all the complexities surrounding the issues of public education. I’ve never been employed as a teacher in a public classroom. But I have worked with kids as a camp counselor and spent time creating lesson plans for adult ESL students, so I have a vague idea of the effort involved. During my observations of public school teachers, from a journalist’s perspective and from a volunteer’s perspective, I have seen enough frustration to question the effectiveness of the American public education system.

Public educators do one of the toughest, most thankless and lowestpaying jobs in America. When they find it necessary to use different strategies to accommodate different learning styles, they’re often either confronted by school administrators or must deal with increasingly diminishing resources due to federal budget cuts.

Michelle Pfeiffer, who starred in “Dangerous Minds,” and Robin Williams, who starred in “Dead Poets Society,” play English teachers who dare to defy school administrators who designed a system to promote conformity in a large student population.

Although “Dead Poets Society” did not take place in a public school setting, Robin Williams’ character was fired following a tragedy involving one of his students. This is a realistic scenario of the risks some teachers have taken.

And then there are the students in “Dangerous Minds” who begged their teacher to return. As if inner-city students would have that much influence in convincing a teacher to stay. But I still make a point of watching those two movies regularly because the issues raised help me to think about how I might handle such a challenge.

Let’s assume that a high school English, math or social studies teacher has a deep grounding in their subjects and truly enjoy working with teenagers. Let’s assume that because these teachers enjoy working with teenagers, they attempt to build relationships with their students. When a teacher can demonstrate that they truly care about a student’s welfare beyond the classroom, the student is more likely to succeed.

But what happens when a good teacher has to cope with an overcrowded classroom and spend more time as a disciplinarian than covering subject material? I remember one of my high school English teachers telling my class one day about his attitude concerning the “School Within a School” program, my high school’s special program designed to help students at risk of dropping out. He said he couldn’t concern himself with those students because he already had too many other students willing to learn.

Public education is nearing a crisis point. We’re in danger of losing valuable, effective teachers because the system has been set up in such a way that fails to equip them with the proper resources to do their jobs. And who pays the ultimate price?

Effective teachers not only provide facts and information, they also teach students how to apply the facts and concepts to think for themselves. Effective teachers are extremely patient. To help ease some frustration for a struggling student, Pfeiffer’s character told him that sometimes it takes a lot of wrong answers to get to the right one.

We tend to underestimate the amount of influence teachers have on their students, be it negative or positive. Sadly, sometimes, teachers also underestimate the potential of their students. Those particular teachers shouldn’t be in the classroom at all.

Public education in America leaves much to be desired compared to other countries, such as Korea or Japan. Hopefully strides will continually be taken to improve it.