In my opinion it is not possible at all to decide on one teacher who is – or rather was – the best teacher I ever had, because there are always several categorys to form a judgement (= sich ein Urteil bilden) about a teacher. The following questions are some suggestions tp think about a good teacher:

– How much interesting are the lessons? Does he use old and simple methods by arranging an „I-am-standing-in-front-of-you-and-you-have-to-listen-to -me-teaching“? Or does he go to trouble (= sich die Mühe machen) to teach his students in a more creative way that activates them to learn by thinking on their own and livens up (= Abwechslung bringen in …) the lessons?

– Also important is the question about the pedagogical talent of the teacher: Is he capable of explaining the facts in an understandable way? Does he answer the students‘ questions?

– The behaviour towards the pupils is significant, too: Does the teacher always talk in a calm way or does he shout at the students when he is angry? Does he transfer his private problems on them?

-Another point is the teacher’s empathy: Does the understand his students‘ worries, problems and conflicts? Does he accept their character traits? Does he know how it feels like to be a teenager?

– Besides sometimes there is a huge difference between the teacher practising his job and the teacher in his private life. The way he connects these two sides often decides about his sympathy.

– The teacher’s intentions are also important. Does he see his profession as a calling or is he just teaching to earn his livelihood (= Lebensunterhalt)?

– The qualities a good teacher has to personify are also conditional on (= abhängig von) the pupils‘ age and on their personal sympathies and dislikes. These feelings are not rational (= verstandesmäßig).

All in all I think a good teacher should steer middle course (= den Mittelweg einschlagen). That means, to find a compromise on all the virtues and critiria I mentioned.