Passion

I have had many amazing teachers in my lifetime. All of them have been very passionate about their jobs. Some I remember better than others because they made more of an impact on my life, but none of my teachers have actually been indifferent about their job or their students. Maybe I lucked out, but maybe passion just comes with the job. I think that for a career such as teaching, you have to be passionate about the subject area, the job and the students. You won't survive if you aren't! I think your first five years of teaching are similar to a "weed out" class, like freshmen biology. You find out pretty quickly whether you love the class (in this case the job) or not. And if you don't, it is not the type of job you just stick it out for. No, if you can't handle being a teacher, you get out of their fast. Those who remain teachers are passionate about what they do - they wouldn't be their otherwise!