The True Value Of A School Teacher
Teaching is art. It is based on sharing concepts in a creative way with the objective of increasing students’ knowledge. However, a school teacher is more than a person who just teaches.
In Spain, teaching is a field which is, at times, not as respected or as relevant as others. It is not an easy task because it requires interdisciplinary knowledge and lots of love, effort, patience, motivation, creativity and empathy. School teachers have to have social skills to cooperate with people and work in groups. In addition, they have to be extroverts, resilient, resourceful, open-minded, capable of working under pressure, altruistic and have good communication skills, intercultural awareness and adequate leadership skills.
The training of a school teacher is not based on what they teach. Their training consists of different aspects like educational and developmental psychology, pedagogical methodologies, educational laws, educational resources, ICT, educational research, educational history, attention to diversity, curriculum, subject didactics and how the educational system works.
School teachers guide their students during an essential part of their life to get educational and social training as future citizens. These professionals have a significant influence on their students, which explains why people tend to have strong memories of some of their school teachers.
When a teacher believes in their students’ abilities, the students are able to reach their goals and overcome their difficulties more easily. They are even able to do and learn things that they had never imagined before. This can be explained thanks to “The Pygmalion Effect,” which shows us that teachers’ expectations of their students have a strong effect on students’ performance. Moreover, school teachers are crucial for the development and improvement of our society. Students are the future citizens of our world, so if they have very efficient training, if they are aware of different social problems and they feel that their teachers believe in them, they will be able to build a better world to live in and also be the best versions of themselves.
For all these reasons, teachers can make the difference. Let’s support them!
Cristina Caravaca Valverde
Escuela Oficial de Idiomas de Murcia