A good English teacher.

[faa2010]

In a course they told me that an English teacher has to be almost perfect and correct his or her students in everything, that he or she has to have a flawless pronunciation and grammar when he or she speaks and has to answer to every question his or her students' have.

However, a teacher is also a human being, so the teacher can make mistakes and can't know everything like anyone else who lives in this world, isn't it?

The teacher can make mistakes, admit his or her limits and flaws to the students or tell his or her students that he or she doesn't know that word, but he or she will search for it, it's much better than become frustrated because he or she has to be smarter and more intelligent than his or her students.

In other words, keep learning new things is also part of being a teacher, isn't it?

[minor9th]

I'm a high school English teacher, and I do think I know more about grammar, writing, analyzing literature, etc. than my students, but I don't know everything, and I'm certainly not perfect! If a student asks me a question that I can't answer, I usually say something along the lines of, "Good question. I'm not sure...let me look into it for you." (More often that not, it's a history, not an English question!) They appreciate my honesty and humanity. No doubt that I've encountered students with higher IQ scores, but I do have a bit more life experience to bring to the table. I believe I learn something everyday--sometimes from a student, sometimes from research. I never want to quit learning.

[faa2010]

And for example, what will you do if you make a mistake and a student corrects you?

Of course, you won't get angry and start with that horrible speech of I know everything and you don't nothing.

[minor9th]

Depending on the nature of the issue, I usually handle it with a little humor and move on.  I never pull the superior routine.

[pianochick93]

As a keen student, I appreciate teachers who either know their stuff, or openly admit to having no clue. Teachers who make something half-feasible up annoy me.

English-specific...I don't think it's possible to know every single rule. Rather, an English teacher should aim for an understanding of the basic rules, and, at the very least, an intuitive sense of the rest. Some rules are ambiguous, and a teacher may have a different opinion than a student. Take the Oxford comma. Student may ask "It is compulsory to have a comma here, before the 'and'? Because I've seen texts with it and without it." Teacher would then reply "I prefer to use X method, however there is no strict rule. You can use whichever you'd prefer"

Teachers can still come across as being intelligent if they don't know something. I recall asking my English teacher the rules on usage of 'which' and 'that', because I wanted to prove my boyfriend wrong (stupid man dots his paper with 'whiches' that should be 'thats'). She ummed and arred for a bit, didn't give me a definitive answer, and advised me to look it up on the internet. I still respect her immensely, because she's a great teacher, incredibly intelligent, and cares about her students.

[minor9th]

Teachers can still come across as being intelligent if they don't know something. I recall asking my English teacher the rules on usage of 'which' and 'that', because I wanted to prove my boyfriend wrong (stupid man dots his paper with 'whiches' that should be 'thats'). She ummed and arred for a bit, didn't give me a definitive answer, and advised me to look it up on the internet. I still respect her immensely, because she's a great teacher, incredibly intelligent, and cares about her students.

Wow--to me, that suggests a shocking lack of knowledge!

[faulty_damper]

Wow--to me, that suggests a shocking lack of knowledge!

No it doesn't.  From the description, the minimum that can be deduced is that she was unable to tell what the definition/difference is.  She may, in fact, be able to use it correctly but unable to describe the difference.  She is not alone.  Most English speakers can speak correctly and use "that" and "which" correctly even though they can't tell you what the "rules" are.

That which is not proper shall be disdained.
That is an object reference - the object shall be disdained.  Which is a comparison of objects - proper, not proper.

Now that is tricky!  Which is why traditional grammar instruction is impotent. We don't learn language through the instruction of grammar contrary to how high school and college texts teach it.

[minor9th]

No it doesn't.  From the description, the minimum that can be deduced is that she was unable to tell what the definition/difference is.  She may, in fact, be able to use it correctly but unable to describe the difference.  She is not alone.  Most English speakers can speak correctly and use "that" and "which" correctly even though they can't tell you what the "rules" are.

That which is not proper shall be disdained.
That is an object reference - the object shall be disdained.  Which is a comparison of objects - proper, not proper.

Now that is tricky!  Which is why traditional grammar instruction is impotent. We don't learn language through the instruction of grammar contrary to how high school and college texts teach it.

That's like a math teacher not being able explain the difference between the numerator and the denominator!

I try to make it simple for my students: Use "which" if you refer back to an idea: I did not study for the test, which turned out to be a bad idea. Use "that" if the idea is continuous: The piano is an instrument that gives me much pleasure. (One could simply say The piano gives me much pleasure, too!)