Being a caring person. By this I mean truly and selflessly wanting to help others. I think that being an influential teacher relies on one's inner volition to share knowledge for the benefit of another. Caring for your students means more than wishing well for them. I believe that caring extends beyond the classroom, and that it exists in waves given across the hallway. The important questions that are not asked on tests but rather before or after class. Being a caring person means exceeding the expectations of kindness and consideration. Being a great role model, and making your students feel cared for as more than students, but as human beings, can be key to helping them develop into responsible members of a democratic society. 
 

Knowing your subject matter. When we get down to it, knowledge of the material you are teaching is important in portraying yourself as a professional, but even more important in the eyes of the student. Really knowing your subject matter allows you to break it down in a way that accentuates the complexities, while setting up situations for connections to be made in the minds of your students. Knowing your subject matter doesn't mean that you have to know everything, but it does mean that you have to know where to bring your students so that they can find the answers to their questions. 
 

Becoming a part of your community. As a teacher, you are a stakeholder in their education, but also in their lives. We often tend to underestimate the power of a single phrase or smile. The ripples we create on a daily basis reverberate in the souls of our students, colleagues, friends and family. We often feel deeply, and think we are the only ones who feel so deeply. I think that it becomes exceedingly important to thrive in the community of which we are a part. It is important to realize how our actions and reactions shape how others perceive us. Finally, I think that remaining a great teacher means sinking your roots firmly in the community of your school and students to understand their realities, and helping them to become leaders there.