Teachers' Day: Celebrating the importance of teachers in society
- By Eugene Clark
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E-mail China.org.cn, October 8, 2014
Another attribute of excellent teachers, demonstrated by Mr. Rozendal, is having high expectations for students. He practiced what is called "tough love" - a love of students combined with an expectation that they be disciplined, give of their best and aim to achieve the highest possible standards.
Excellent teachers are both kind and honest. They give students honest and constructive feedback that enables them to assess their progress, and they give students encouragement to keep on going and put in the effort to continually improve.
Two additional strengths found in Mr. Rozendal's teaching and in all outstanding teachers were his enthusiasm and his sense of humor. As Plutarch said, "A mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled." The most effective teachers do not see themselves as merely pouring content into the empty heads of students. They love teaching and learning, and their passion is contagious. Mr. Rozendall loved teaching. He made teaching and learning fun. His enthusiasm ignited in me a lifelong passion to devote my life to teaching and to similarly passing that torch to my students.
Great teachers are excellent communicators. They are passionate about their subject and combine that passion with high emotional intelligence (EQ) that enables them to ignite the love of learning in others.
Great teachers value every student and devise ways to reach every student. They help each student to realize their strengths and how to use those strengths to maximize their ability to learn and master the skills required to be successful in their careers and in life.
A great teacher, like an outstanding sports coach, can devise different strategies to bring out the best in each player and get individual players to work together as a team. With much of the world's knowledge now readily available to all on the Internet, great teachers today have embraced it and other technologies to change what and how they teach. In today's environment, teachers are less the "sage on the stage" and more the "guide at the student's side." In fact, the very best teachers will acknowledge that learning occurs in many directions, and that teachers learn much from their students as well.
Great teachers stay in touch with their students and follow them on their journey through life. I know I greatly enjoy hearing from and keeping track of my former students, and I similarly keep in touch with many of my former teachers.
Great teachers work together to create excellent skills. They design curricula and work with parents, educational authorities and other stakeholders to build the school as an "institution" that creates lasting and transformational change, leading to more talented citizens and a better society.
We need more research about how to create outstanding teachers and schools. In doing so, we will create an outstanding society. Unfortunately, school systems in many countries today are overly focused on testing at the expense of teaching and learning, and we have forgotten the joy of learning and the fact that education is very important for its own sake. In other words, World Teachers' Day should provide a much-needed reminder that the purpose of education is not only to gain a career, but also to learn how to live a good life. As Aristotle said, "The educated differ from the uneducated as much as the living differ from the dead." The more a society's citizens can reach their full potential, the more fulfilled our lives and our dreams will be, and the brighter our future will be.
The author is a columnist with China.org.cn. For more information please visit: http://www.china.org.cn/opinion/eugeneclark.htm
Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors only, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.
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