We all remember our favourite teacher…

Mine was a very unassuming primary school teacher who had a big passionate laugh, a warm heart and was big into her drama. She was always keen to ensure every child got involved in the many productions in the school and was always encouraging us to do our best and chase our dreams.

While sometimes teaching may seem a little like a day spent herding kids and rearranging school desks, at the root of most teachers’ motivation is a desire to inspire, to help develop and to make sure that a young person is best prepared for life ahead. But who do you think would be the perfect person to do this?

A recent survey by YouGov, commissioned by the Times Education Supplement, has asked 2,014 parents with children in high school and 530 high school students, what their perfect teacher would be. Here are the results:

Children’s Perfect Male and Female Teachers

1.     Albus Dumbledore (36%) - J.K. Rowling (40%)

2.     Yoda (26%) - Miss Honey from Matilda (26%)

3.     Jamie Oliver (26%) – Cheryl Cole (25%)

Parents Perfect Male and Female Teachers

1.     Stephen Fry (40%) – Carol Vorderman (48%)

2.     David Attenborough (35%) – Helen Mirren (36%)

3.     Lord Sugar (25%) – J.K. Rowling (31%)

While it may be hard to imagine Yoda being the best person to deliver a lesson on sentence structure for example, early years furniture would be perfect for him. These results show clearly that both children and adults feel that their perfect teacher would be someone inspiring and passionate.

A teacher does not need to be literally perfect; they just need to be there for the right reasons and to have the right intentions. Children love Dumbledore and J.K. Rowling because they love Harry Potter books. They know them as things which inspired them and made them feel joy and excitement, which perhaps says a bit more than parents more practical choices of Stephen Fry and Carol Vorderman. Not to say that they wouldn’t be good teachers, it’s just they may not be quite so instantly recognisable, especially for younger children.

I think this poem describes an ideal teacher nicely:

A Special Teacher

Teachers come and go
But every so often one comes along
That you’ll always remember
One who makes learning an adventure…
And who can still remember
What it’s like to be young
And growing up…
The kind who can make you
Want to be the very best you can be…
Someone you can really talk to,
Who really cares
What happens to you…
That person is YOU!
- Author Unknown

So who would be the best teachers overall according to the combined surveys?

How about Stephen Fry dressed up as Dumbledore and J.K Rowling giving a lesson written by Carol Vorderman with Carol doing the writing on the blackboard…perfect?