Role of Teacher in Teaching, Guiding Children, Community Relations, and Administration
Good teachers make good schools. The quality of the school can be no better than the people who are responsible for its improvement. If the headmaster is the coping stone in the school structure, the teacher’s role is no less important.
If the nation’s teachers are C, the nation itself cannot but be C and let there be no doubt about it: if we wish to be a nation, our teachers will have to be A We want a duly equipped living teacher-a teacher who realizes his duties and responsibilities to the child, the parent, the community and the nation itself. As without a good Principal the best school is wrecked.
So without good teachers the best system is bound to fail. With good teachers even the defects of a system can be largely overcome.
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1. The Nation Building Role of the Teacher
The teacher’s role in the society is vital. He acts as a pivot. He keeps the lamp of civilization burning. He guides the destiny of the nation. He is the architect of the future. He has a specific role to play in the reconstruction of the country.
India, which has planned for education reconstruction, is in need of really good teachers. It is the body of good teachers upon which the destiny of the nation depends.
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2. Teachers Role in Guiding Learning and Building Character
The effective teacher develops broad outlines, and objectives to be attained for a subject, selects materials, teaching aids, uses efficient methods, makes judicious use of lectures, discussions, demonstration experimentation, projects and field trips: maintains and develops pupil interests in the learning process; develops suitable study habits in children; evaluates pupil’s progress with effective evaluation techniques: in short, does all for pupil growth and development in the school.
He is responsible for judging pupil growth through evaluation. He collects evidence of specific nature about the child, judges it objectively, and makes unbiased interpretation of the mass of data that he so collects regarding the child’s intelligence, achievement and aptitude.
He gets all information about the child from his health records, anecdotal reports, activity records, his creative writings, his interest inventories, and parent conferences.
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The teacher is also responsible for building character. It is he who can best infuse in the child the respect for what is good, what is right and what is just. It is he who can create leadership qualities in the children he guides. It is he who can encourage desirable traits of personality and character because he alone comes in direct contact with the pupil.
No one exercise greater influence upon the mind of children than a teacher consciously or unconsciously, he is mounding the character according to his own model.
3. Teachers Role in Guidance
The changing concept of guidance, which associates it with the daily activity of the class-room teacher, gives a greater responsibility to him. It means that the teacher who is dealing with children should be given in-service education for discharging his responsibilities in personal, educational and vocational guidance.
The necessity of such an in service programmed is felt because we are at present not in a position to employ special guidance personnel in each school. Many of the nontechnical aspects of guidance can be taken up by every class-room teacher: and some aspects needing technical knowledge may be developed through in-service education.
4. Functions of the school teacher
(i) Using of tools and techniques for intensive study of children, e.g., intelligence, achievement, aptitude tests, interest inventories.
(ii) Developing a programmed of study groups for parents so that they may be able to understand their children’s problems.
(iii) Establishing and maintenance of record and reports.
(iv) Coordinating the work of special service related to guidance, for example, the work of school doctor, the dentist, the counselor and the guidance officer.
5. Role of Teacher in Maintaining Community Relations
A good teacher understands the importance of good parent and community relations. He understands well that, however, good a proposal or an educational programmed may be, unless the public understands and accepts it as good, he cannot hope to succeed.
A good teacher therefore tries to make community ready for accepting a desirable change in the programmed through parent teacher associations or parent study councils.
He understands that, as the public has a tremendous investment in the public schools, participation of the community is essential in the development of schools policies. He also understands well that the role of education is not only confined to serve the needs of children and youth, but in a broader sense education has to contribute much to the community as a whole.
With this philosophy in mind, a good teacher tries to build good parent-community relations. He tells through his children what a good school is doing. He draws the attention of the parents to school’s powers, service and cultural contribution by taking an effective part in the organization of school functions.
He impresses the public by showing the achievements or his boys in scholastic field in cultural programmers, and in games and sports. When parents come to school he welcomes their visits, respects their ideas and gives those help and confidence.
6. Role of the Teacher in Helping Administration
No administrator can be successful without the active and willing cooperation of the school teacher. The creative Principal knows well the power of cooperative process of using his staff and community resources. The creative headmaster improves an educational institution only through group approach.
He believes that there is much greater chance of success when a group turns its creative power to the problem of school policy, making and executing it. He knows well that there is a greater support for him in the administrative work when he takes the group into confidence and shares with them his responsibility.
He helps the headmaster not only in administration but gives him enough support in his organization which involves manifold activities-classification and re-classification of pupils, framing of time-table, organization of co-curricular activities, maintenance of building, maintenance of pupil records, management of school business, supervision of other colleagues, organization of public function, building of head-community relations, etc.