What are teachers other than “teachers”?

What will be the answer to the question, “What does a teacher do”? well, they teach, right? But is that all that the teachers are entitled to do?

The answer to that is ‘no’. Apart from teaching lessons and curriculums, teachers are also meant to impart practical knowledge, morale, provide motivation, etc. So, what are the roles teachers have to play apart from being teachers?

How can a teacher be a collaborator?

Collaboration is a mantra for teachers as in a setting institution, a teacher is not working alone. They have to work with other teachers, non-teaching staff, students, guardians, and so on.  So, collaboration is important for a teacher, and also needs to be a good team player.

When you are an exemplary teacher, common people of the society look up to you as a role model. The very profession of teaching calls for respect from the people around. Their opinions and activities are rendered to be important.

What else can a teacher do as a collaborator? What about learning material designs? Developing lesson plans, educational policies or setting up rules for the institution- all call for collaboration with the parents of the children and the government.

When a teacher acts as a collaborator, they actually give shape to the learners’ future. See how important that is?

Can a teacher be a mentor?

Of course! This is especially true for teachers involved in teaching pre-primary classes. Little children have minds full of innocence and always strive to act and follow the teachers.

The teachers are the go-to person for the children in case they need any advice or instructions. The guidance they receive from them, make them feel the teachers are mentoring them.

And is it only mentoring the students? No! senior teachers can mentor the junior ones and make the decision-making process easier. Also, seniors, with more experience can share them with the juniors and thus knowledge is handed down through the mentoring activities.

What about being an organizer?

A teacher has to be an organizer. What will they organize? Starting from lesson plans to the class works- everything needs to be kept in a proper organized manner or else, it will be completely haphazard.

An organized teacher can make even the toughest deadlines to meet look easy. For example, if you organize what classes you will take and what home works you will assign at the start of every week, you will find it less complicated through the days.

What does a teacher do as a mediator?

The teacher can be a mediator for students and parents alike. Students often have more confidence and faith in their beloved teacher than on their parents. So, often the students’ messages are conveyed to the parents by the teachers. Often it goes the other way round too.

Teachers are a mediator between two students also. In case two classmates disagree on a point and they have a heated argument, a teacher can make them understand the pros and cons of both and help them reach a conclusion.

How can a teacher inspire others?

By every means possible. In regular classes, the students are spending a lot of time with the teachers. Thus, the learning environment induces in them a feeling of following what the teacher says or does. In other words, that’s how a teacher inspires the learners.

Students feel that the teachers are in a position of authority and they know all that the students can ask about. So, to the students, their teachers are source of motivation, inspiration and encouragement. The teachers’ activities inspire the youths to a great extent.

Is there anything else?

Student participation is ensured only when the teachers are equally involved. To do that, teachers need to play various roles in addition to the role of imparting knowledge. These roles, along with the above-mentioned, will include:

• Being resourceful enough to clear doubts or queries the students raise in a class
• Learning new teaching techniques to remain updated about the latest trends
• Participating in the lesson plan instead of only instructing
• Being an orator to ensure active communication

Teaching is such a profession that prepares the citizens of the future. The generations of youths who are in the hands of the teachers, are their responsibilities also. So, the teachers should be extra careful to make themselves wholesome educator and that’s how they can be a role model for the little minds.