Dispositions

Once again, dispositions are things that cannot be taught.  A disposition is something that is innate and specific to its owner; it is the instinctual reaction one has when presented with a situation of any kind.  As a general rule, instincts cannot be altered; however, it is possible to control those instincts so that we act differently in those same situations.  For example, when performing a musical piece, most of us have a tendency to stop when we make a mistake because we want to go back and fix it.  In a performance arena this is not a good idea and significantly detracts from the experience.  Therefore, all musicians must learn to control that instinctual response and keep going, no matter how badly they want to go back and fix the mistake. 
This same principle applies to personality traits.  For instance, I tend to respond to most situations with some level of sarcasm (i.e. a lot – a lot more).  Regrettably, sarcasm is not always perceived well in a classroom setting.  In fact, it is often frowned upon because it can so easily be taken in a highly negative light.  Therefore, I had to learn to curb my tongue when I'm teaching and respond to students' comments sincerely rather than sarcastically.
The only problem with this method of learning is that sometimes people have no desire to change their behavior.  They think that they are always right, that their way is the best way, and that anyone who tells them differently is spending too much time in New Mexico growing weed.  Whether or not this is true, people should still realize that they are not always right.  We can only learn from each other if we keep an open mind and trust that ours is not the only important perspective.  Everyone has something to offer if we simply take the time to accept it.

Resilience

As unfortunate and pessimistic as it may sound, resilience cannot be taught; it is something that can only be learned through those kinds of experiences that are usually considered indescribable.  Everyone begins with some level of resilience but in most cases this resilience is specific to a certain area.  Some people are more patient than others, some can withstand more verbal confrontation, some have a higher pain tolerance.  All of these things constitute some sort of resilience. In teaching, however, I believe the form of resilience necessary is the ability to continue forward, maintaining your beliefs, even when it seems that no one is on your side.  I also believe that this is one of the more difficult types of resilience to sustain. This is the reason that so many teachers change professions withing the first three years: they simply do not have the resilience required.  That is not to say that it is impossible for one to develop such resilience, but rather that such development needs to happen before the commencement of a significant lifestyle change, namely, teaching. 
Schools like Luther College give their education students plenty of opportunities to experience a hands-on approach to learning how to teach.  Not all schools are like this, however.  Thus, when they send students out into the working world of teaching, they are woefully unprepared for the challenges that await them.  Really, the only way to teach true resilience is to give people crap. Make their lives a little more difficult and see if they get through it.  Perhaps this is harsh, perhaps it is unfair, but it definitely the only way teach resilience.

Inventiveness

I was reading the Ed Pysch book the other day, in preparation for my final paper and I ran across this phrase on creativity: “In fact, because creativity requires considerable expertise and fairly sophisticated thought processes, learners are apt to become increasingly creative as they grow older, gain diverse experiences and perspectives – ideally including multicultural experiences and perspectives – and have numerous opportunities to experiment with objects and ideas” (p. 274).  I have but one thing to say in response to this: FALSE! How can we measure creativity to begin with? Are we to measure the number of thoughts one has or should we instead focus on the value of those thoughts?  Everyone has ideas but not everyone has GOOD ideas.  Why then should we give credit to those with more ideas (adults) instead of those who have good ideas (children).  This may seem a bit harsh but when it comes to thinking creatively children take the cake.  Yes, adults can do more with their experiences but more often than not they are afraid of doing so BECAUSE of those experiences.  Children, however, frequently have less to draw on and therefore the ideas that they do have can only be seen as wondrous and, indeed, creative.
Ask an adult to draw a picture of whatever they want and (after looking at you like you turned into a martian) they will either draw something that they think is humorous or they will draw something to piss you off for asking them to draw in the first place (unless their an art teacher).  Ask a child to draw for you, however, and you will get everything from rainbows to dragons to family 'photos' and anything else imaginable.  Which would you call creative? Personally, I vote for the kid.
The problem isn't that kids lack creativity.  The problem is that the adults are squashing it out of them through public education.  When I was about to start kindergarten my mother visited a variety of different elementary schools in our district to see which one she liked best.  Most of them came within the same general realm with very few differences.  There was one school, however, that stood out in my mother's mind as a definite NO.  I'll not share the name of the school but when my mother visited one of the kindergarten classrooms she saw firsthand how the teachers there were determined to eradicate all forms of creativity.  The kids were working on coloring in a picture of a witch.  One boy decided that he wanted his witch to have green stockings and so began to color them in that way.  Instead of congratulating him on his inventiveness, the teacher came over and reprimanded him for being different, saying that if he did not color his witch's stockings with white and red stripes his picture would not go up on the wall next to those of the other children (all of which had red and white stockings). 

Reflection

Most people find it incredibly difficult to reflect on themselves and their actions for the simple reason that they are afraid of what they might find.  We as individuals have two basic senses of ourselves: who we think we are, and who we think we want to be.  Most people spend the majority of their time trying to be their ideal self as opposed to learning about and embracing the person they already are.  The simple answer as to why people do this is that it is easier.  It is easier to pretend to be someone you are not because then you don't have to take responsibility for who you really are.  Furthermore, self reflection takes time and effort.  You have to be open to the idea that if you look at your self objectively (at least as much as possible) you may discover some things you wish you hadn't.  What people often don't think about is that everything you learn about yourself needn't fall into categories of "good" or "bad".  We've all done things we're not proud of but that doesn't mean we're bad people.  Getting to know yourself is both the hardest and one of the most important things to do in life because when we learn what our flaws are we will better know how to manage them.  If, for example, you discover that you have a strong emotional reaction to, let's say, politics or religion then maybe it's better not to talk about those things with people you don't know well.  Save that stuff for your friends who will (theoretically) accept that that's a part of you. 
Another reason why people often find self reflection challenging is that they confuse abilities with choices.  If we all thought about it long enough we would probably discover that we are capable of doing some pretty horrific things.  That's life.  Just because we CAN doesn't mean we WILL.  For example, say you're walking through a department store and you see some gadget or other that you really really really really really really want but can't afford.  Now, you have two choices: (1) steal the gadget and hope you don't get caught, or (2) get over it.  I think (or hope at least) that most of us would choose the latter because we know that stealing is wrong.  Not many of us worry about the fact that we do have the physical and mental traits that enable us to steal the fancy gadget.  We just don't do it.  This idea can work in almost any context.  Short of having a physical or mental disorder that causes you to lose control over a part of yourself, we all have the ability to make the right decision.  We're just afraid that we won't. 

Enthusiasm

Personally, I have always found that my level of interest in and attention to a subject is directly proportional to the teacher's enthusiasm.  To me this seems logical.  If a teacher is passionate and enthusiastic about the subject he/she is teaching, then the student has a reason to be excited also.  Similarly, if the teacher can't be bothered to take an interest in what he/she is teaching, why should the student?
Throughout my educational experience people have asked the eternally boring question: What is your favorite subject in school? The answer can go one of two ways: (1) whichever subject in which the student feels most capable; or (2) whichever subject is taught by the coolest teacher.  I always picked number two.  In seventh grade my favorite subject was English, in eighth grade - Math, in ninth - French.  It changed and was almost entirely dependent on who the teacher was and how much they enjoyed their subject. 
The best example of this was my seventh grade English teacher who absolutely loved Shakespeare.  We spent a great deal of time in class discussing Shakespeare, learning about his life, and reading his plays and poems.  In most situations this would have seemed a major overkill but because the teacher was so committed and sincere in her teaching, it seemed perfectly natural. 
While passion and enthusiasm are clearly an important part of teaching, it is also important that the passion be in the subject area of the class. I once had a history teacher who was incredibly passionate... about Lunchables.  She was convinced that they were the spawn of Satan and that all the children would rot in hell forever for eating Lunchables on a regular basis.  Most of the kids in that class couldn't tell you when the Magna Carta was signed (which by the way was 1215 [lunchtime!]) but we sure learned a lot about processed meat.
Go Lunchables!

Authenticity

Authenticity is one of the most important aspects of teaching.  It is the gateway to honesty and fairness, and provides the basis for a good classroom environment.  In my opinion there are no limits to expressing authenticity.  To be authentic is simply to be what you say you are.  If you say you are a fair person and you intend to treat everyone fairly and you do so, then you are authentic.  Authenticity should not be confused with being an open book.  Being authentic does not mean that you must share every real thought and feeling you have every time you think or feel it; those things require censorship.  To be authentic you only need to be true to yourself, unless your true personality is mean, judgmental and generally negative.  In that case, being fake is the best shot you have at teaching anyone anything. So for argument's sake, let's assume you're a nice person.
A lack or loss of authenticity in the classroom can have an incredibly detrimental effect on students and their learning.  A student can always tell when a teacher is being "fake"; its instinctual. Once a student has detected that a teacher isn't being authentic, that student will most likely lose respect for the teacher. When this happens, it becomes more difficult for the teacher to do his/her job and the students will learn less than they did before and the classroom environment becomes more negative.
In general, if you feel the need to put on airs in order to be successful at your job, maybe you're in the wrong field.  Some people are better suited to office work than to teaching or better suited to a laboratory than an auto shop.  Whatever the employment we should always be true to ourselves, that way we have a shot at being happy. If you hate your job on a good day, you're doing the wrong thing. 

Compassion

When I was in second grade, my class had a show and tell day where everyone was to bring a special stuffed animal, toy, or pet to share.  Everyone was thrilled to have the opportunity to share an item; it was the talk of the town (in the second grade classroom anyway).  The day finally came and everyone brought their favorite toy or trinket to school -- everyone except Natalie.  My poor friend Natalie had been running late for school that morning and in the chaos of trying to get to school on time, she forgot her stuffed bunny.  She was devastated.  Luckily for her our teacher, Tina, was an extremely compassionate person and she wanted to make sure that Natalie was able to participate in the show and tell.  The school had already attempted to phone Natalie's parents but they were at work so it was up to Tina to ensure that Natalie felt included in the day's activities.  She told Natalie to take her pick of the classroom toys and share one of them but Natalie said that it wasn't hers so she couldn't share it.  Some of the kids in the class offered her their toys to share but the response was the same.  It seemed a lost cause but Tina had one more idea.
Come lunchtime, the class was excused to the courtyard and the teachers to their lounge.  Tina, however, got in her car and drove to the nearest toy store where she purchased and brand new, pink bunny.  She came back to school and called Natalie into the classroom.
"I found this at lunch and I think it's in need of a home," Tina began.  "Do you think you'd be able to take care of her? I'm sure she'd love to participate in show and tell."
Natalie was ecstatic.  She thanked Tina a hundred times over and was the first to share when the rest of the class came in from lunch.
Some would classify this act as unnecessary, an overkill, but to a seven-year-old girl an overkill can be just the right thing.  There's nothing to say that Natalie wouldn't have survived without a toy.  Most likely she would have been upset for a time but come Monday she would have been herself again. We can never truly know how deeply a negative experience will affect a child so when in doubt, I believe it best to err on the positive side -- even if it is "unnecessary".