Balance of Teacher and Friend

     After school on Wednesdays at the mission the staff are encouraged to keep groups of children for games and supper. These are the boys I kept. Interacting with them brought the issue that all teachers eventually deal with. This issue is a topic that in recent years has become one of the most discussed issues in the educational circles. 

     Some contend that many students have a hard enough time at home. They don't need more strict models in their lives. They claim that teachers should be buddies with their students, go easy on them and try to make their school life as fun and loving as possible.

Others assert that in the present times children are not getting the authority they need to thrive. They admit that children should be loved and not abused. Yet they contend

                                            that if authority figures aren't commanding, then children will see no need to obey them                                                                                           and in the end possess little if any respect for authority. Teachers should not be friends

                                            with their students. They should be mentors and leaders.

                                                   My time at the mission helped me to formulate my opinion about the issue. First

                                            of all I strongly feel that the family is falling apart. Children are not receiving the

                                            authority they need to thrive. A child craves rules. Though they often rebel against the                          

                                           rules, children that live in a structured environment are much more successful 

                                           than those that don't. Because children are not receiving the control they need at

                                           home teachers must help to counteract that. They must be leaders and trainers first

                                           and for most. 

     On the other hand the teachers job is to prepare the students for life. One way to do this is to participate in nonacademic areas.  To do this a teacher must know the students on a personal level. There is a balance that every successful teacher must find. A balance between teacher and friend. I was not friends with the students during school, however after school I could interact with them. I could get down on their level and get to know them better. Not as students, but a people in their own right. Tracy is always happy. Even when complaining, he has a smile on his face. Daylon is very smart and witty. He excels in school and has a great sense of humor. Dakota is the cool dude. He is quite athletic, and always trying to impress his friends. Abram is the leader of the pack. He likes to be different, and isn't afraid to state his opinion.

Balance of Teacher and Friend Part 2

     The River of Lights is an event in the Albuquerque area that is fun to go to every December. A bio park sets up Christmas lights and people can stroll through them. Jason and Sheena were taking the high school students and asked if I would like to come. While I was there my mind wandered towards the problem I was thinking of earlier. The balance of teacher and friend. Walking with the teens I thought about how to be friendly while maintaining the leader atmosphere. Being friendly and being a friend are two very different things.

      A teacher needs to be friendly. If he is not, the classroom will be much more restricting and the student won't be able to learn at their fullest capacity. By doing simple acts such as learning the students' names, history, and aptitudes the teacher will be able to create an environment in which students can be taught affectively. It is important to know the students. All students are different and one lesson won't be successful for all of them. It is also important to know what the students are adept at doing. For example, if a student is talented at speaking the teacher should use that for the best of the student. Give the student extra work that involves speaking and maybe a little less work on writing if that is the students weakness. A teacher would be able to learn all of these useful tidbits simply by being friendly with the students

    Although being friendly is important it should not be taken to the extreme. If a teacher is excessively friendly the classroom will look more like a party. There will be little order and no actual learning. Order is necessary. A friend isn't able to create learning. Many toddlers play school. If one were to watch several children playing school, it would quickly become evident that there is little, if any, learning and no order. A friend rarely teaches a friend. A classroom would be the same way. If the students think of the teacher as only a friend there no need to listen or obey that teacher. Friends are on the same level. If a student sees himself on the same level as the teacher, the authority flies out the door. A friend has no authority.
   
     Teachers need to be friendly. They do not need to be friends. A teacher needs to see the students as valuable members of society. A student needs to see authority in the teacher. If there is an extreme in either area the classroom won't function correctly.