We've all had good teachers and bad teachers. The teaching profession is a noble one, but just like any profession, there are good and bad because everyone is human - prone to have glitches and flaws in who they are. And sometimes, despite flaws, there are great teachers who are usually, but not always, underappreciated and unrecognized. As an upcoming educator myself, I hope that I will not ever fall into the upper list but rather, only fall into the lower one. I will say that the upper 3 are in the minority. The vast majority of educators that I've been blessed with are from the lower 3. But first, let's talk about the 3 types of bad teachers that I've seen.

1. The Authoritarian

We have all either seen or been in this type of classroom - the authoritarian's. A key sign that the students view someone as this type is when the teacher is so stern and robotic that he/she actually inspires students away like a repellent. Have you felt like you were just a number with a pulse? Or maybe have you felt scared to ask the teacher a relevant, school-related question because you wanted to avoid backlash for asking? Did you feel hesitant to go into a certain classroom or even like you had to be consistently on your guard because mercy was a foreign concept?

If you have, you might have had this type of teacher, one that puts authority and rules above all else - including, ironically, the instruction and learning of students. Authority and rules are important, and as a teacher, you have to be stern to a degree. But the authoritarian takes it too far, often ignoring the human nature to occasionally forget or make a small mistake like he or she doesn't possess it him/herself and then deals with the infraction. Sometimes it may be as simple as making a snide comment to a student for forgetting to get a book, while ignoring personal factors as to why he or she may have been out and not grabbed one. Unless the student is a favorite, the infraction is what is important, not the person. To these, it seems that teaching is merely a stepping stone for them to reach administration.

2. The Favorite-er

This is more annoying than anything else. The favorite-er treats students differently according to bias. This teacher "plays favorites," and giving a favored student a better grade or more leniency when compared to less favored ones is not uncommon. Types of favoritism may include giving better grades to one student because of who he or she is and not giving the same benefit to another student who produced about the same quality of work. Some don't mean to. It's more inadvertent in them. But some seem to do so purposely.

3. The Indifferent

This is the name I give to those who are on the other end of the spectrum from the authoritarian, and I've maybe only had this teacher once. They either don't seem to care about order or don't necessarily care about teaching or both. If you have a question or try to ask something, they either ignore it or seem annoyed that they have to try to explain it in a different way. Instead of teaching, they sometimes try to be the student's friends or spend every class talking about sports or some irrelevant topic. This okay occasionally, but I don't think it should be frequent. Sometimes, it's like they view their job as a glorified babysitting job, and that's not what teaching is supposed to be.

Those above are in the severe minority, but they also tend to be student/administration favorites for one factor or another. Now, although there are far more than just three types, let's talk about three of the good ones.

1. The Encourager

This type, obviously, encourages and inspires. They encourage questions, even though they may be difficult or inconvenient. These make students feel like they are the focus of the job, not just an occupational annoyance. These very rarely find anything negative to say, and usually, they purposely find positives. That's not to say that they never get mad or become stern. It means that these focus on the positives across the board for everyone and try to get these positives to grow. Usually, students feel genuinely welcomed into these teacher's classrooms, and they walk out feeling emboldened and more confident in their skills, not weaker than ever.

2. The Server.

There are many of these, but they make it a point to do what they need to do in order to benefit someone's education. That's it. They stretch what is conventional and tailor themselves to fitting both the needs of the individual and the class. And this is my favorite kind of teacher. It's not often that I need help in some area, but when I do, it's nice to have someone who can adapt. The server even is willing to help in other areas outside of his or her own subject.

For example, I've never had much trouble in science, but I have in math. Knowing this, and having the right background, my science teacher doubled and got me through math when I was in tenth grade although he could have easily said teaching math wasn't his job. In the next two years, I surprisingly made A's in math unassisted.

3. The Balanced.

This one is sensitive to the class's needs, both intellectually and personally, and like the server, goes beyond the call of duty to meet the needs. But this one also makes the subject interesting where possible, and he/she makes sure to have fun where possible. Although it sounds cliche, these teachers actually try to make their subject fun and relevant. Personally, most teachers I've ever had are like this.

Most teachers I've had fall into this lower list. It is with the upper list that I still feel as though I never really learned much at all. Unfortunately, years later, I still somewhat resent the ones I had that are in the upper list. Many teachers are actually combinations of the lower list. But I am thankful for teachers I've had from both lists. The ones on the upper list have only successfully taught me one thing: what not to do. The ones on the lower list are examples of what I should do. But I am mostly thankful for the good teachers.