I telrs ncademic Essays From The Past Exams - Dr.

Kiranpreet Kaur Makkar

35. Some peopre think lhot leochers should be responsible for feoching
sludenfs to judge whol is right ond wrcng so lhol lhey con behove well.
Ofhers say lhot feochers should only teoch sfudenfs ocodemic
subjecls. Discuss bofh views ond give your opinion.

A welFknown adage from lndia says "Acharya devo bhava," which means teachers are next to God. Right
from the ancient times, teachers are put on the highest position. lt is a highly debatable topic whether
teachers should be concerned with only academics or also teach manners and etiquettes to children. ln this
essay I intend to discuss both perspectives. l, however, believe that teachers have a much wider role than
just teaching subjects.

Teacher is like a potter, who moulds the earthen vessels in whichever form he wants. A child's mind is like
raw clay and is very much ready to be moulded in the shape it is guided to. A good teacher always feels
responsible to develop a child's conscience. He has the potentialto become a friend, philosopher and guide
for his students. With this special position in students' life, he often acts as their role model. His words
highly influence the minds of the students. Students always try to imitate his actions or implement his
teachings, so he has to be much careful of his behaviour. Therefore, in that respect a teacher has a much
more role than just teaching academic subjects.

Furthermore, teachers convey many good things to parents and society through students in many parts of
the world. For example, in Nepal, where illiteracy rate is very high, teachers convey many valuable
messages such as of personal hygiene through students. When a student goes home and tells his parents
that his teacher says everyone should wash hands before meals, then parents listen. ln such set-ups
teachers are playing a much greater role than academicians.

On the other hand, those who say that teachers should only concentrate on teaching course material,
argue that competition is stiff and if children lag behind in curriculum, they will never be able to catch up
with their counterparts in other parts of today's global village. They opine that rules of behaviour can be
taught by parents at home.

ln conclusion, I believe that teachers have a much bigger role than just covering the syllabus.