Today is Teachers’ Day. Since the start of National Teachers’ Month, elementary schools across Taipei have been bustling with activities honoring teachers.
However, beneath the surface of this unparalleled, lively atmosphere is an issue deserving earnest and deep contemplation.
Is respect for teachers fading? Is the social standing of educators on the decline?
Many people believe that societal respect for teachers is diminishing — teachers themselves are familiar with this sentiment.
However, the issue is not absolute, but relative. According to my observations, even though we live in a time where respect for educators is comparatively lower, there is still no shortage of teachers who receive warm welcomes and respect from students and parents. Their responsible attitudes and the care they provide allow them to enter into the hearts of students and their parents, earning them a positive reputation.
When teachers regard students as their own children, students would, in turn, respect their teachers like parents. The acceptance of good teachers has no correlation with the past, present or future — it is entirely dependent on teachers’ attitudes and behavior.
Education is the process of people teaching people, passing knowledge onto others and influencing lives. The impact teachers have on their students is beyond imagination. Teaching is the process of one life touching another — teachers can help students to not only change their lives, but also their destinies.
My upbringing is a perfect example. I grew up in a rural area, but from the start of elementary school, I drew inspiration from many great teachers. At first, I was completely ignorant to the true flavor of learning, but once I tasted the sweetness of knowledge, I developed the resolve to work hard and rise into academic circles, later dedicating my life to education.
If not for those good teachers, this village kid would not have strived to emulate my teachers’ examples and become an educator worthy of respect from students and parents.
In the end, I achieved that dream.
As the saying goes: “Education consists of example and love — nothing else.” I worked hard with this goal in mind, as did my teachers.
Good educators should keep abreast of the times, altering their attitudes toward students and continuously improving their teaching methods. They should use a variety of guiding techniques, teaching with skill and patience. Enlisting the help of advanced technology to supplement their students’ education can enable the children to learn faster and develop more reliable memories to be used more widely.
Teachers should devote themselves to helping their students’ knowledge deepen like the indigo ink. The extract of the indigo plant is much bluer than the plant. Good teachers are ones who selflessly dedicate themselves to their students. In turn, their students would forever cherish them, remembering them fondly for the rest of their lives.
Once, during my graduate studies, a professor asked the students and teachers in the lecture hall to raise their hand if they felt that respect for teachers was waning. The majority agreed with the sentiment, but the professor responded by saying that respect for teachers is not a given, nor is it something to be demanded.
Teachers must be self-reliant, and earn students’ and parents approval through their own efforts and teaching performance, he said.
This is how respect for teachers is built. Educators must understand how to find answers within themselves, rather than one-sidedly demanding respect from students and parents.
The professor was right and this truth has stayed with me to this day.
If teachers do not seek to improve themselves, attempt to use outdated teaching methods and materials to teach modern-day students how to adapt — or worse, inappropriately spread the use of corporal punishment, sexual harassment or other disgraceful behavior around campuses — how can we hope for respect from society?
Today, sources of knowledge are widespread — teachers are no longer the only channel through which students can learn. Teachers must empower themselves, embodying professionalism in educational quality, spirit and attitude. They must develop a genuine love for education. This is how to earn the acceptance of students, parents and society.
As long as teachers strive to improve and achieve educational excellence, there is no need to worry about society no longer respecting them. Respect for teachers is not a given. Educators must search within themselves and continuously work to improve. As long as every teacher works toward this goal, respect would come naturally.
Tsai Jr-keng is a retired elementary-school principal.
Translated by Kyra Gustavsen
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