Some people believe that the most important qualities of an effective teacher are understanding and empathy. Others believe that it is more important for teachers to be rigorous and demanding in their expectations for students.
Write a response in which you discuss which view more closely aligns with your own position and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, you should address both of the views presented.
Essay:
It can be agreed unanimously that from the ancient times, teachers have played a key role in shaping the lives of students. Whether it be great sages from the ancient times in their ashrams deep in the forest or great hubs of learning like Oxford and Cambridge which has housed numerous erudites. Teaching comes in as many forms as the teachers themselves. The author states that while some people feel teachers need to be more understanding and emphatic with their pupils, others feel that they need to be rigourous and demanding in their expectations from their students. I mostly agree with the first view point for the following two reasons.
First, the most important role of the teacher has to be the guiding figure in the lives of their students. Pupils would only be motivated to listen to their teachers have to say if they see him or her as someone worth emulating. The greatest teachers in the history have always been the greatest inspiration for their followers. One great example of this would be Lord Buddha, sure he imparted the wisdom of a great religion, but the origin of his greatness was not from the knowledge he imparted but the empathy he showed to the downtrodden and the poor. He had already gained a substantial following and was one of the notable figures in the society by the time he achieved nirvana. People were inspired by his humanity and kindness, not his knowledge. One other example of this is that the global teacher award that is awarded each year to the teachers who have made a notable contribution to the field, is decided not by the amount of knowledge they imparted but the way they motivated numerous kids around the world to pick up books when they’d have rather picked up tools and gone to work.
Secondly, as the world has evolved into the age of technology in the 21st century, the role of teachers has evolved as well. The advent of internet has ensured no one would be face a dearth of sources of information should he or she wish to learn. The role of teachers now not only includes imparting the knowledge but has encompassed developing all the facets of a student’s character. Now when children can easily access information on the web, I feel a teacher’s role has evolved to be more of someone who students could count on to clear his or her doubts, someone who can guide them the path to their goals so that they don’t get lost in the sea of information and someone who they can count on for support when they trip on the path of their dreams. In this day and age, a teacher who a student can approach without any reservations is a lot more valuable than someone who’d provide them a strict curriculum to work with.
Although I concede that teachers who are more demanding of his or her students do provide certain benefits as in they motivate their pupils into pushing their limits and working up to the expectations of their teachers. However this approach has one fallacy, it can lead to severe demotivation in students who consistently fail to perform for one reason or the other. It can easily lead a complete disinterest in the education system among this section of students. A successful teacher in my opinion is the one acts as a foundation upon which students build their dreams.
It is generally agreed that teachers have played a key role in shaping the lives of students since ancient times. Be it the great sages of antiquity in their ashrams deep in the forest, or the great centers of learning such as Oxford and Cambridge, which have housed numerous scholars. Teaching has as many forms as the teachers themselves. The author notes that some people feel that teachers should be more understanding and emphatic with their students, while others feel that they should be strict and demanding in their expectations of their students. I largely agree with the first point of view for the following two reasons.
First, the most important role of the teacher is to be a guiding figure in the lives of his or her students. Students will only be motivated to listen to their teachers if they see in them a person worthy of emulation. The greatest teachers in history have always been the greatest inspiration to their students. A great example of this is Lord Buddha. Certainly he imparted the wisdom of a great religion, but the source of his greatness was not in the knowledge he imparted, but in the compassion he showed to the oppressed and the poor. By the time he reached nirvana, he had already gained a considerable following and was one of the most remarkable figures in society. People were inspired by his humanity and kindness, not by his knowledge. Another example of this is that the Global Teacher Award, which is given each year to teachers who have made a remarkable contribution to the field, is given not according to the amount of knowledge they imparted, but according to the way they motivated numerous children around the world to pick up books when they would have preferred to pick up tools and go to work.
Second, as the world has evolved into the age of technology in the 21st century, the role of teachers has also changed. The advent of the Internet has ensured that no one is short of information sources when he or she wants to learn something. The role of teachers is now not only to impart knowledge, but also to develop all facets of a student’s character. In a time when children can easily access information on the Internet, I believe the role of the teacher has evolved to be someone students can count on to clear their doubts, someone who can point the way to their goals so they don’t get lost in the sea of information, and someone they can count on when they stumble along the path of their dreams. Today, a teacher that a student can approach without reservations is much more valuable than someone who gives them a strict curriculum to work with.
While I concede that teachers who set higher expectations for their students offer certain advantages in that they motivate their students to push their limits and meet their teacher’s expectations, this approach is not the only one. However, this approach has a flaw: it can lead to severe demotivation in students who consistently fail for one reason or another. It can easily lead to a complete lack of interest in the education system among this portion of students. A successful teacher, in my opinion, is the one who acts as a foundation upon which students can build their dreams.
@Torsten thanks a lot! I seem to lack the eloquence that you show in just modifying certain sentences in the essay. Could you give some pointers on how to work on that part? Should I work more on vocab? or do you think this is due to the time constraint? (I get roughly 18-20 minutes to write the essay, rest is divided between thinking about points and proof reading)