What is the role of a teacher in a regular classroom? How well do we know our role? Have we internalized this role? These are just some of the questions we should ask ourselves as teachers.
The role of a teacher in a regular classroom ranges from source of knowledge, to creator of knowledge, not mentioning all the other roles like parent surrogate, counselor, etc. As a source of knowledge, it is imperative that we possess mastery of the subject matter, for in the end, our credibility depends on whether or not we know what we are teaching. On the other end of the continuum, our role is also as a creator of knowledge, that is what we and the class know now is not final, it is growing. We must possess openness and scholarly approach whenever we are faced with situations where our present knowledge must be challenged, stretched and refined. Half life of information is about two years. In two-year time, half of what we know may have gone obsolete. No wonder, a voracious reader among our gifted students know more than us, and when they detect that we, the teachers, are ignorant on subject matter relevant to what we are teaching, there is a great probability that they will lose confidence and respect to us. So first and foremost, the role of a teacher is to learn. We must learn about what to teach, how to best teach what needs to be taught. We must also continually learn about our class, our students, and our environment. Most of the time, teachers have wrong assumption when we plan for our class. We plan not for the present set of students we are teaching, but for the last group of students we taught the previous years. As such, we can hear many teachers complaining and comparing our current students with our past students. These teachers have a backward thinking approach to problem solving.
If we really want to help our students, as teachers, we must then be more pro-active, and sensitive to their needs in performing our roles as competent and effective classroom teachers.
Well-said. It is also noteworthy to mention how significant the teacher's preparations are. THis should not just include her educational preparation but equally important would be her psychological and personality preparation.
ReplyDeleteI agree. Being a teacher requires a lot of preparations. Not just our lesson plans, our instructional strategies and materials... WE are working with human beings - thus the need for us to equip ourselves with not just academic know- how but most importantly, our mind-set, our emotional and psychological set-up as well.
ReplyDeleteSimple yet a harsh truth is we cannot give what we do not have.
ReplyDeleteCorrect! That is why teachers must be relentless learners themselves.We should walk our our talk.
ReplyDeleteDefining the role of teachers in honing the minds of children depends on several existing schools of thought. Teachers at some point maybe viewed as source of knowledge and even creator of knowledge as what pointed out in text.It would be good also to consider the emerging and popular view of the role of teachers as facilitators of knowledge in the teaching and learning and as a medium of transfer of existing knowledge to learners. The pivotal role of teachers in developing the the skills of school children is enourmous which require proper preparation, good attitude and dedication. Generally, I agree on the main point particularly on the need for teachers to continuously acquire new skills to achieve mastery and to cope with the fast changing global educational systems.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you too. The popular role of a teacher as facilitator of learning is equally important as the role of creator and source of knowledge, since we lead them to the discovery of the unknown. We set for them a learning environment that is safe,nurturing, and challenging. True indeed, a teacher has to be versatile and creative in order to help the students bring out the best in them.
ReplyDeleteYou are a teacher...a teacher is a leader. A leader needs to be a participant and completely involved, even in the tangents.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations, you're one of our best teachers!
“Do we really fit as teachers?”…It takes courage for a teacher to ponder on this question because sometimes we don’t want to look at ourselves and be confronted with our weaknesses as teachers. But for me, an effective teacher tries to go over the day and evaluates oneself in order to make room for changes that would benefit the students. Other than creators and facilitators of knowledge, I believe that teachers are ANIMATORS…we put theories into practice, principles into action, text into life…our role as teachers is not only confined within the four walls of the classroom, it goes way beyond… in the sense that we should not only be concerned with passing on knowledge but likewise be concerned with our students’ total being…So after a day’s work in school, if I could say that I made a significant difference in the lives and minds of those I teach, I guess I could say…I fit as a teacher I’m glad to have read this great article and the comments, it made me internalize the more my role as a teacher. More power!
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