Pre-service teachers taking a Human Growth and Learning course and graduate students enrolled in a Classroom Management course wrote letters to secondary students to gather responses on traits of an outstanding educator. A theoretical framework about teacher effectiveness and student voice underpins the study. Findings indicate that suburban and rural students have similar opinions, and the three most frequently mentioned teacher characteristics included a caring attitude, knowledge of the subject and how to teach it, and classroom management skills. Along with examining teacher preparation implications, we provide research regarding reasons to include affective methods, innovative instructional strategies, and top-notch classroom management techniques to better prepare teachers.