Teach English in Wudaoshui Zhen - Zhangjiajie Shi

Teachers play a vital role in our lives. All professions have an important role but teaching is one of the most important. There are many dimensions of the role of the teacher in modern days. They are expected to be a model of academic, intellectual and professional competency. A teacher is imitated as a role model and the students are controlled from indiscipline by his/her training. Assessment, evaluation, management, supervision and administration are major elements of today’s educational system and can only be carried out by a good teacher. Habits of reading, hardworking, cleanliness, punctuality, regularity, good conduct, sincerity and other individual and social traits are groomed through teachers. If the teacher is lacking these traits, the behavior of the students cannot be modified. There will be no character building on the part of the students. In modern education the role of the teacher is similar to the role of a gardener. Teacher`s task is to bring out the abilities and capabilities of the students. Each and every human is born with innate potentials and these potentials are improved and strengthened by the teachers. Nowadays counseling and guidance have become an important source of facilitation, which is bringing positive results. This service and its entire arrangements are carried out by teachers. They look at the issues and plan for their future and guide them. Hence, the teacher is also a guide. In all Greek city states the goal was to produce civilized citizens with good ethical and moral values. Education and teaching depended completely on the gender. Boys would go on to get education at a school where they would learn to read and write. They were also taught poetry, math, philosophy, religious studies and public speaking. The girls did not receive the same privilege as boys. They were educated at home by their mother and a slave and were trained to be stay at home moms and rear the next generation of good citizens with moral and ethical values. In antiquity teachers were not specialist in one subject. A single teacher would teach a wide variety of subjects and they were very highly regarded and well respected. In the early days of Rome, teaching boys was the responsibility of the male members of the household and teaching girls was the responsibility of the female family members. But when Rome became a republic, influenced by the Greeks and other peoples around them, the roman system changed. Teachers were hired to teach their own children to prepare them for their future. Literature, math, religion, Greek language and most importantly public speaking and oratory skills were taught. Education was limited only to the privileged few and the elite. The role of the teacher was to produce future senators, consuls, lawyers and magistrates. Teachers had a very important role in antiquity, perhaps even more important than modern times. Monarchs often consulted them in both war and peace. Education was accessible only to the elite of the society. In other words, teachers in ancient times were grooming future monarchs and other important people upon whom the future of state and its prosperity depended. The importance of teachers cannot be understated. Their influence can and will last longer after the class is over. The role of a teacher is much more complex than what people assume it to be. Teaching is not a part time job which ends at the completion of a class or at the closure of school. Education and training are full time assignments. Teacher`s role as a guide and counselor should continue. A teacher can control the negative influences, ensure emotional stability in students and develop the society through full time services. A good teacher is the link between school and society. If a society has shortage of good teachers, it will be causing a serious loss. Good teachers promote good habits and virtues in a society. Without it, there is no chance of betterment of s society. Teachers are assigned the task of training future generations to enrich the values and traditions of a society. In the Second World War, London times declared the teachers as hope in the days of cries. Looking for teacher’s guidance even in times of war emphasizes on the role a teacher in the society. The individual and collective development of a society largely depends upon the role of a teacher. If the teachers of a society are backward in social, moral and intellectual pursuits, common men will not be able to obtain a remarkable status. A teacher can be your friend when you need a shoulder to cry on, a parent when you need support and a critic when you are going the wrong way. A teacher`s primary role is to impart education to students on objects that would help in sharpening their practical, social, cultural and creative abilities. Teacher also plays the role of a mentor who shows the way. Teachers also play an important role in planning, arranging, evaluating entire syllabus, curricular and co-curricular activities. The role of a teacher cannot be underestimated. It has remained important throughout history and has increased more so in modern times. A teacher has to play several roles at the same time. He/she has to be a mentor, guide, friend, organizer, planner, assessor, supervisor, controller, prompter, participant, tutor and much more. Teachers play a very important role in self-improvement of students. Kemal Ataturk said, “A good teacher is like a candle. It consumes itself to light the way for others”.