Absolutely!  These characteristics must be in place before anything else occurs.  These are basic to establishing a good rapport with students and an atmosphere in which students feel comfortable enough to express themselves and therefore learn.  But of course these are just starters.  You might expect that your teacher has mastery over the material; that your teacher is skilled enough to provide different learning experiences for different kinds of learners; that he/she is conscientious enough to prepare lessons that not only engage but that also promote learning, mastery and independence;that appropriate and timely feedback is provided for student work; that students are well prepared for the next level of learning and can implement skills they learned in class in a broader context.

This is a perfect list of teacher expectations. If anything, I think you may be going too easy on us. I would add that a teacher should be expected to provide you timely feedback on your assignments, and a teacher should be frequently assessing your skills in that classroom and making you aware of them.

I also think that you, as a student, can help a teacher to reach those expectations. For example, you ask for the teacher to "teach in a way we [students] can understand." Well, as a teacher, we have the skills to determine the best way to execute this if you, as students, help us to understand what ways you learn best -- Do you learn by listening? Doing? Watching? Talking? Etc. Give us feedback, and we can make it work.

Trust, communication, and sense of humor are key factors in any type of human interaction, thus exponentially more important in a student/teacher relationship. I feel that oftentimes teachers who lack these qualities are not confident in their own skills, which is not something you, as a student, should be concerned about, but instead be aware of. We are always more sensitive about things we are unsure of.

Overall, these are fantastic expectations, and I would hold my students to these same expectations...and of course, doing your homework! ;-)

I think your expectations are valid and reasonable.  Your expectations may seem very simple, but actually are quite complicated. Teachers are actually trained to meet these expectations but we use language that is a little bit different.  I just wanted you to know that all of the expectations you listed are directly related to what teachers call motivation and engagement.  I find this interesting because the issue of motivation becomes increasingly important as students get older and sadly it is a key to learning that is often overlooked by secondary teachers.  How many classes do you attend in which the teacher lectures, assigns reading and asks you to answer the questions at the end of the chapter?  These teachers might be overlooking the power of motivation and engagement in the learning environment.  How many classes do you have where the teacher talks to you as an individual, encourages collaboration with your peers, and offers you some choice in the assignments you complete?  These teachers are probably aware of the role that motivation plays in learning.  Which of these two types of classes do you enjoy, respect the teacher, and learn more in?

Your expectations can be simplified to an expectation of motivation and engagement in your learning.  Good teachers spend many hours trying to figure out how to motivate and engage their students.  As a teacher this can be a puzzling challenge.  As a student you should expect nothing less.

I think that these are fair expectations to place on a teacher.  The question would be whether or not this is what your teacher views as their own expectations.  I think that being able to ensure that there are expectations for teachers, but understanding that one has to work with what they are given is essential.  For example, a teacher's expectations for students might be to demand that all students heed instruction exceedingly carefully, complete homework in a tenacious manner, and hang on every word of instruction as the ground beneath one's feet.  Yet, the reality is that some students might not reach or even emerge to such expectations.  In this case, teachers might have to readjust their expectations in order to work with what is present, working with what is there in order to find success.  They cannot simply dismiss the students and say, "Bring in the next one because this one is no good."  In the strangest of ways, perhaps this is going to the be the same process for you, as a student regarding your teacher.  Your expectations might not be reached.  Thus, the question ends up becoming how are you going to work with what is in order to make it as good as it can be.