According to Wikipedia, the Big Five personality factors and their traits are summarized as follows:

1. Openness - an appreciation for art, emotion, adventure, unusual ideas, curiosity, and a variety of experience.

2. Conscientiousness - a tendency to show self-discipline, act dutifully, and aim for achievement; planned rather than spontaneous behavior.

3. Extraversion - energy, positive emotions and the tendency to seek stimulation and the company of others.

4. Agreeableness - a tendency to be compassionate and cooperative rather than suspicious and antagonistic towards others.

5. Neuroticism - a tendency to experience unpleasant emotions easily, such as anger, anxiety, depression, or vulnerability; sometimes called emotional instability. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Five_personality_traits)

As an educator, I would like to examine each of the traits and discuss how I think it is beneficial (or not) to educators. Starting with the first one:

Openness.
It stands to reason that an educator must be open to new ideas, have an appreciation for adventure and bring to the table a variety of experience. An educator must be ready to embrace new concepts in order to bring them to his or her students. A teacher who is stuck in the past will soon be passed by the students. I once interviewed a prospective teacher who bragged about creating his notes for the subject he taught (sociology) 30 years ago and had not changed them since! He was proud of his 'fail' record - the number of student he failed over the years. Needless to day, I did not hire the individual. A teacher's job is to ensure the success of his or her students, not the failure! And the fact that he had not changed his notes in 30 years told me he was not open to new ideas or change at all.

Conscientiousness.
An educator that shows self-discipline models a behavior that is desirable in students. There are rules to be observed in the education of our youth and a dutiful teacher will follow those rules as long as they do not interfere with the education of the student. What I mean by this is an educator must not be so rigid in his or her conscientiousness that he or she will miss an opportunity to educate just because of duty to rules. Spontaneous behavior has its place in an educational setting and some of the best teaching moments happen because of spontaneous behavior. At the same time, planned behavior is also beneficial so the conscientious teacher will be flexible as well.

Extraversion.
Positive energy will go further toward reaching educational goals than negative energy. People who exhibit negative energy sap the energy of those around them. This is not conducive to a successful learning experience. Teachers need to be extroverts - they should enjoy the company of others. As an educator, I know how important this is, but I also know that even extroverts need their own quiet time, so it is OK to be a bit of an introvert at times as well.

Agreeableness.
A teacher needs to be compassionate and cooperative rather than suspicious and antagonistic. That is not to say that teachers should be doormats, but instead should be approachable. Students need to know they can trust their teachers, and that their teachers are not out to hurt them in any way. The faculty member I mentioned earlier was very antagonistic toward students in general. He did not like them and tried very hard to make sure they failed his classes. How can anyone expect to learn in an environment like that? A teacher needs to create an environment of safety, trust, and positive learning without crossing over the line to letting students take advantage of his or her agreeable nature. It is a fine line at times.

Neuroticism.
This final trait does not belong in the personality toolbox of an educator. Anger, anxiety, and depression have no place in the classroom.