For all of those you, who don't know yet, I am an Earth Science Education major. I have brought this up in quite a few articles, (way too many.) Being an education major, I want to eventually be a teacher.

Whenever I am in class and I get a second to daydream, I look at the professor and analyze them. These people are my predecessors to my profession and I am going to be following their shoes. Obviously, I am going to make my own legacy, but I have to learn how to be a teacher from someone (or some people.)

Growing up, I was blessed to have had amazing teachers. When I was at a rather critical point in my life, I was observing my teachers and I took a moment to see what they do for me and society. By taking these few moments in class here and there, I recognized that I wanted to be like them.

My teachers in high school were devoted, caring, intelligent, fun, and humble people. The ones that I gravitated towards so clearly and obviously loved their job, and they wanted all of their students to do well. They wanted to change the world and impact society in a positive way.

That's what I want to do, and the biggest reason why I always make an effort to go to my high school whenever I am home is to see them. They carry a big portion to my roots, and no college professor will ever have the impact on me that my high school teachers did. However, my professors are still people I look up too and admire.

When I am in a class and I am debating whether or not I like the professor, I do it based on three or so things. It's based on whether or not the professor is personable, fun, informed, and understandable. Okay, technically that's four, but fun meshes with all of those things. As for personality traits, they're embedded in these qualities.

First, the professor has to be personable for me to like them. I want to know that my professor isn't a robot and is a real person. They can't be directly looking into space when teaching and seem like they are scripted the entire time. That scares me and makes me think not so positive thoughts towards them.

To me, it shows that they have a purpose, and it shows that they can relatable to at times.

I know that all teachers and professors are people, but learning is a vulnerable thing because you're opening up your mind to accept new information. That's how I look at it, and to me, I kind of have to trust a professor on some level to do that. When a professor opens up and gives their students a snippet of their life, it shows me that I can trust them. I don't know why.

Second, a professor has to be fun. I am not going to be interested in everything I learn about and the biggest example for that is Chemistry. I don't know why, but I don't have the biggest interest in Chemistry and my professor changes the course for me.

My Chemistry Professor made chemistry fun by making jokes. She shows that what feels like this impossible science is possible and it is shown by her making it fun. I like learning it this semester because of her, and that's why I am more receptive to it.

Third, a professor has to be informed. I don't want a professor who doesn't know what they're talking about, and how they're actually specialized in something else other than their subject matter. One semester, I had a math professor for a week (I switched out) who was specialized in economics but was teaching me engineer calculus. If someone sees the connection between the two subjects, please tell me because I don't see it for my life.

Finally, a professor has to be understandable. I am not going to understand the advanced language right away of a subject. If it's General Chemistry I, I am not going to understand what a polyatomic ion on the first day of classes. I need to be taught that.

When a professor breaks down the lingo and shows me their thinking and I can see what their thought process was, it's a good sign. I have a model for how to think about certain problems from the professor, and that goes a long way for me. I need to understand the basics as well, and I like it when a professor goes over them at the beginning of a lecture for a difficult topic.

All of this leads to the type of teacher I want to be like. I want to be able to make rocks exciting for kids and be able to show them the science to the beauty that is this earth. I hope to possess these qualities as a teacher, and then those personality traits as mentioned above.

I can give you a full blown out list of teachers from high school that embody that list. As for professors, this semester I only have one that doesn't fully follow it. That one professor is the one I don't like, but still, I can deal with one bad professor.