Some issues need to be explored in more depth than that. I think pedagogy is one of those issues. In particular, I think I need to explore my own teaching, articulate my own pedagogical practices, open them up to scrutiny and shore up the weak bits.

I fully agree with it. But where is the community for that kind of discussion? So far, I find blogposts here and there where some teachers will discuss their lessons. Occasionally I will comment with suggestions and ideas but hardly a process that can be relied upon to improve pedagogy in a systematic or ongoing fashion.

For example, after I read a recent post by a Sam Shah about visually representing quadratics to see how many are factorable over integers, I started thinking about some ways to drive that point to students. I described about 4 different ways that it could be done and even created a tool to visualize quadratics factorization, but unless someone comments or e-mails me, I'm basically in the dark.

As far as having passion for the subject, if the few blogs I follow are any indication, the outlook is positive.

A friend of mine who was working towards a math credential once told me that her elementary school teacher started every Wednesday with "It's Wednesday, math day, boring day.." She is surprised that she survived that and was eventually a math major.

I had never seen the ten commandments before visiting this blog but I must say that they are interesting and pretty true. I agree we as teachers should reflect more about our styles and try to improve them.

I agree wholeheartedly. I know my own learning successes have had much to do with the passion that my teachers have possessed for the topic or the skills being taught. Sometimes, though, I encounter teachers whose own passion for their subject area inhibits the learning of the kids inside their classrooms. For example--just last week, during a pretty intense debate around providing student choice as readers, a teacher that I respect very much insisted that his students should have to read the books that he has selected for his classroom regardless of whether or not they are interested (or even capable) of reading them. When I asked how he would engage these kids and inspire true learning he insisted that his passion for the topic and the text was enough. Passion-based learning conversations get sticky for me here. I tend to think that it has more to do with helping kids define and grow their passions and making space for this within our classrooms. Modeling this is so important....but I find that distinguishing between our passions as teachers and their passions as students is important too. Would love your thoughts on how you would respond to this. I confront perspectives like these often in my own work....

I really enjoyed reading the Ten Commandments for teaching. I definitely agree with you about needing to have passion. I teach elementary school, and I am in my second year of teaching. One of the things that I found last year was that my students were not as enthusiastic about learning during certain subjects. After reflecting on my own passions, I realized that I did not put the same amount of emphasis and excitement into those lessons as I did the subjects I most enjoyed.

Thoroughly enjoyed the 10 commandments - thought provoking. Leads me to reflect on my classes this past week and how to better prepare and present material.

Also loved the passion idea. We are most inspired by individuals who are passionate about their subject area. When we live what we love then we embody true learning and can grow toward mastery.

Looking forward to more posts on this theme.

Speaking about the passion of a teacher alone in his/her subject led me thinking a lot. If a teacher is passionate about his subject beyond love, shouldn't he be pursuing a doctorate in that subject instead of trying to convince little 7-12 year olds about the importance of (e.g.) history all his life?

On the other hand, it is a sad reality that many primary school teachers in my country take up that job because there is public demand and they need a stable job that few want (not true in this economic downturn, but generally so). Some of them disliked certain subjects, but owing to necessity, are compelled to teach 3 different subjects (English, Math, Science). With 3 subjects to teach, there will surely be teachers who still dislike one or the other, and are not able to radiate enough passion for any subject.

I think that the most brilliant thought of this entire blog is the place where it says something to the effect of, if a teacher is bored with their lesson then for sure their students are not interested!. Something that I have heard as I earn my degree is that if I ever get bored of what I am teaching I need to change what I do in the classroom or change careers. If teachers are not interested in what they are teaching then there is no way we as educators can expect our students to care. The most impacting teachers I have had in my career are those that even though the subject may not have been my favorite, they for sure were passionate about it!

A passionate teacher inspires passionate students and passionate students excel. The teachers I learned the most from were those teachers passionate about their subject and what they were teaching because it always made me more interested in the subject.

I look forward to reading your future posts about Polya's 10 commandments of teaching. I can justify that students can sense a teacher's interest in a subject by their demeanor, as I've experienced this as a student myself and it can have a profound effect on how the student approaches the subject themselves.

An interesting article. Reflection and review should certainly be a consequent aspect of any teacher’s desire to improve their teaching methodology. What’s fascinating about the “ten commandments” principle is how it is designed to foster an external perspective on how students’ learning inclinations can improve versus a solely introspective look into how the teacher teaches. In my estimation, one of the most important of the provisions provided was the first, which simply advocates for an educator to be interested in their subject matter. A disinterested teacher will almost always spawn an atmosphere of apathy among students in the classroom.