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Whatever your feelings on teacher tenure, it’s undeniable that The View’s Whoopi Goldberg has reignited a tumultuous debate: “To me, bad teachers don’t do anybody any good. So the union needs to recognize that parents aren’t going to stand for it anymore. And you teachers in your union, you need to say these bad teachers are making us look bad. We don’t want it. You and the parents can make this change. “

Goldberg’s remarks—along with her follow-up commentary—have prompted a sea of educators and policy makers to chime in, often criticizing the host for misleading and misinforming the public.

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I recently read one such Huffington Post piece by M. Shannon Hernandez, a veteran teacher who left the classroom to start a content strategy company. “The constant talk of ‘bad teachers’ in mass media has become sickening and disheartening,” she writes. “It is once again an attack on the teaching profession, as well as an attack to target teacher unions. I will be the first to say that bad teachers don’t belong in education—our nation’s children deserve better than that. However, I think the issue that must be addressed and answered is what constitutes a ‘bad’ teacher?”

I’m an independent school teacher who knows little of teacher tenure, so I will withhold judgment on such a divisive topic. But in her piece, Hernandez also poses three questions that I’ll happily answer:

1. Is the brand new teacher who has been placed into a classroom, and who doesn’t have access to a quality mentoring program (which is happening more and more because of budget cuts), deemed a “bad” teacher? No, not necessarily. Unfortunately, many schools do lack effective mentoring programs. All the same, it’s most certainly a brand new teacher’s fault (or any teacher’s fault, for that matter) for not taking the initiative to ask for help or guidance. When I was a new teacher, my school didn’t have an “official” mentoring program—but I took it upon myself to ask questions of wise and respected teachers. I reached out to several mentors, who gladly took me on. Whether observing me teach, offering all sorts of feedback, or talking me through the rough days, they made me into the teacher I am today. To learn more about my experience, check out my Edutopia piece, “Why New Teachers Need Mentors.”
2. Is the teacher who is certified to teach art, but now also has to teach reading (so that he or she can be tied to student test scores for end-of-the-year teacher evaluation purposes) a “bad” teacher? To be blunt, relating test scores to anyone’s end-of-the-year teacher evaluations—regardless of subject taught or classroom experience—is lazy and stupid. I don’t know how else to put it. No one moment in time should be used to gauge teaching and learning. I’m not held accountable to such a ludicrous system. But it’s not uncommon to be asked to teach something outside of your comfort zone. When I was a third-year teacher, my head of school asked me to teach journalism. I have news reporting experience, but I had never taught journalism—and I knew almost nothing about evolving media and storytelling tools. I had to learn about coding, video production, photography editing, and social media. Last year, my division head had me teach four sections of early European history. I had taught American history for five years, affording me some familiarity with the subject. But really, my teaching European history was akin to a hospital director’s ordering a neurologist to perform open-heart surgery. I learned along the way, and I did the best I could.
3. What about the teacher who has a conflict with an administrator, because the teacher spoke up about misuse of school funds, and is now being silently bullied in the work place? Does this constitute a “bad” teacher? It all depends on the situation. I don’t know anybody (including me) who hasn’t used school resources (within reason) for non-school-related purposes. Who wouldn’t be angry if a colleague snitched on them for photocopying a dozen or so birthday invitations for their son? That person would deserve a few dagger stares, even as I can’t imagine most people caring about such a minor infraction. It’s an entirely different matter, though, if one receives similar treatment for speaking up about embezzlement, or spotting somebody charging personal expenditures (food, computers, gas) on a school credit card. But if one has made such a claim—and it has been substantiated—I’m confused as to why anybody would silently bully the whistle-blower. That person would be protecting not only the school from illegitimate expenditure, but also possibly teachers from lower salaries. Are public schools really that juvenile, where an outspoken, brave teacher, however many years removed from third grade, still gets picked on for tattling about something truly egregious?

Aside from the instances above, here are twelve more ways you can spot a bad teacher. I’ll leave it up to you to decide what should be done about each.

1. Like clockwork, the teacher arrives right before school starts and leaves right after it ends.
2. Similarly, the teacher rarely if ever makes herself available for extra help.
3. The teacher doesn’t return parent phone calls, or at least not in a timely fashion.
4. The teacher rarely if ever attends athletic events, shows, or other student-centered events.
5. The teacher never changes the curriculum, and has been using the same tests for over 15 years.
6. The teacher shows little to no interest in learning more about his teaching subject.
7. The teacher still users an overhead projector, and shows little to no interest in learning about educational technology.
8. The teacher shows little to no interest in professional development, beyond what’s mandated by the school.
9. The teacher consistently returns work late, and without much feedback.
10. The teacher consistently arrives late to class.
11. The teacher doesn’t distribute an assignment sheet, or make due dates known.
12. The teacher complains about anything and everything, while offering few or no solutions.

This list is by no means exhaustive, but notice how I mention nothing of a teacher’s test scores or years in the classroom. To me, what matters most is a teacher’s burning desire to strive constantly for improvement, and to be the best he can be. That desire isn’t hard to gauge, and it’s not at all elusive—especially to one’s students.