Efficacy

Naturally, educators are in a position of power, authority, and leadership: they are role models (whether they want to be or not!) "Actions speak louder than words," quite literally in the sense that students will learn not learn from a teacher's "words" if his/her actions are not congruent. Although no teacher is perfect, in order for effective learning to occur, the teacher needs to be able to exemplify a certain level of "togetherness." Consciously and subconsciously, students expect teachers to be confident, knowledgeable, and stable.

Ultimately, in order for teachers to be good role models, they need to know themselves well. As human beings, we need to know ourselves in order to get past ourselves and focus on others, and being a teacher is a very others-centered job (one would hope!) Teachers need to know themselves: strengths, weaknesses, interests, biases, experiences, and then be able to recognize that of their own students and teach accordingly. Good teachers know themselves and are constantly seeking understanding outside of themselves in order to reach their students most effectively.