Can one bathe without water? Definitely not, so also, education without teachers is not possible for it would be like walking through an endless maze in the dark with no flashlight because teachers are eyes with which learners see.
The importance of teachers in education cannot be over-emphasized as it is very evident even in our everyday encounter which is directly or indirectly affected. Though many students read alone without their teachers, yet does it mean that there is no teacher? No, of course, because that book is in actual fact, that student’s teacher. A majority of the students who read or even surf the net do that because they have been given the area of concentration, been mandated or even coerced by their teachers.
No wonder a Pakistani Activist said, “One book, one pen, one child and one TEACHER can change the world”. If this doesn’t show that education without teachers is incomplete and is literally a futile effort, it’s hard to tell what else would, because it is easy for a student to hold a book and a pen but if a teacher isn’t there to dictate towards what direction that pen should go, then the student in question is definitely going nowhere.
When a child is born at first, that child is uneducated. He is oblivious of the happenings around him. The mother who takes care of and shows that child what is wrong and what is right at that point is that child’s TEACHER. Some mothers even go as far as making their children home-schooled. Any knowledge or education to be gained is given them by their first teacher (their parents). Without these parents who took it up as a duty to guide and teach that child, no education would’ve taken place.
A student reading a book is doing that to gain an education. No teacher might be present there physically; but in actual sense, that book is the teacher because whatever knowledge to be gained is gotten from that book.
Education without teachers would be like a herd of sheep without a shepherd and anyone can tell what would become of such a herd, they would be devoured by wild animals. This is to be likened to students in this day and age because due to the technological relief at their disposal, they display a high level of indolence towards education. When left without the guidance of a teacher, they would become reluctant to do anything related to actual learning or education, they just want to chat, play video games and they end up becoming prey to ignorance and when this happens, a shot at acquiring knowledge has been lost already.
Teachers are endowed with a lot of capabilities. “A good teacher can inspire hope, ignite the imagination and instill a love of learning”. Let’s pick the first key keyword – ‘HOPE’. A teacher is capable to the fullest extent to return the lost light in a student’s life and eyes. Such capability is what yields respect from the student to the teacher and when that respect is present, the student can acquire education, one that would definitely make him something.
Teachers, once in the school are equivalent to parents. Through education, they mould the lives of the students. They show them a good path of life to follow. They change their mindset which of course is beneficial in the long run because only a willing heart really learns.
Many people might see education without teachers as a good idea because they feel that teachers are the cause of some students’ failure but are teachers really the problem? Five renowned people; Abour H. Cherif, Gerald E. Adams, Farahnaz Movahedzadeh, Margaret A. Marilyn and Jeremy Dunning carried out a study asking students why they really fail and majority of the answers really did point back to the students because the students admitted that they are the reason they fail as a result of lack of concentration, laziness, procrastination and many more devils of success. How then can students cope on their own?
The importance of teachers in education is indispensable. Even the Son of Man, Jesus was a teacher to people over 2,000 years ago, if he hadn’t educated them, they would have faced worse fates and the same thing applies to students of today.
Some people see education without teachers as a good idea with the belief that they can save more if they didn’t have to pay teachers. Nothing good comes easy but “If you think education is expensive, try ignorance”. It is a very simple relationship. One needs education though it is expensive and education itself isn’t complete without teachers whether it is the physical teacher in the school setting, or the book that teaches, or the natural teachers – parents.
Education would never be able to go well without teachers because they play a vital role in every dimension of education as well as in the lives of the students.
King's High School, Satellite Town, Lagos
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- Education Without Teachers - February 9, 2017
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