The Dallas Morning News and the Annette Caldwell Simmons School of Education and Human Development hosted a forum Wednesday night titled “Developing Good Teachers.” The discussion, open to all and free of charge, was about the importance of educators and the essentials to effective teaching.

Faculty members from schools all over Dallas gathered in the Martha Proctor Mack Ballroom and discussed topics such as how to aid current teachers, how to recruit new and talented ones, and the importance of principals.

The forum was led by a panel of education experts and moderated by Dallas Morning News columnist Bill McKenzie. The group shared their thoughts and opinions on the impact, effect and growth of teachers and how they can affect students learning.

Kerri Briggs, the director of education reform at the George W. Bush Institute, discussed the role of educators as leaders and what it takes to supply districts with enough quality school leaders. She believes that principals are the second most important variable in a student’s education.

 “Ultimately, I believe that every child in the U.S. deserves a quality education,” Briggs said. “Children can succeed when they have caring adults in their lives, and a great education is possible with great leadership.”

After Briggs discussed principals, the rest of the panel kept the discussion about teachers. Charles Glover, the chief of human capital management for the Dallas Independent School District, explained what DISD is doing to identify teaching talent and how they develop it. He thinks education and preparing educators should be our nation’s priority.

“Being a successful teacher is all about mindset, skill set and knowledge,” Glover said. “Teachers are, without a doubt, the largest contributing factor to the academic and life trajectory of students in a classroom.”

David Chard, the dean of the Simmons School, talked about what colleges of education need to do to better prepare teachers for the classroom. “There are four cornerstones of good teacher preparation,” Chard said. “They are content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, recruiting the right teachers and professional support.”

The most interesting speaker was La Tasha Bassette. Bassette, a DISD teacher, discussed what it takes to succeed in the classroom and how districts can develop good teachers. She believes teachers should always be working harder than their students.

“Information is continually changing, so we can’t be passive,” she said. “Computer technology changes every 18 months, Russia’s borders can’t stay the same, and I just found out that Pluto is no longer a planet. That change requires us to be active.”

McKenzie and the panel closed the forum by answering questions from the teachers and principals in attendance. Almost every person in the room agreed discussions about teaching needed to happen more often because it’s a pressing matter in our society.

“Thank you for caring about the issue of effective teaching in the classroom,” McKenzie said. “It is central to our community, to our state, and certainly to our nation. There is almost nothing more important.”