Introduction to Teachers Information
Teachers enjoy a unique role in the moulding and development of their students. It is unique in one sense - the teacher may never know the impact that he or she has had on a given student. Because it is difficult to ascertain the degree of influence, the teacher may falsely conclude that there is no influence, or very little, outside of intellectual skills; or our PE teachers might conclude that they have little influence outside of the development of motor skills. Whether you wish to admit it or not, we are constantly imparting affective skills.
Paradoxically, it is in the last area that teachers may feel insecure or may even deny having any influence. Our students need us in more ways than we can ever know. We need to teach them how to think, but we must also teach them how to deal with emotions. We need to teach them the accumulated wisdom of centuries, but we must also teach them to cope with the here and now. We must teach them about historical and literary characters, but we must also teach them to deal with the people in their environment. We must teach them the skills necessary to earn a living, but we must also teach them about death and dying. In order to teach them, however, we must learn ourselves.
We can no longer perceive our roles only as dispensers of knowledge. The students sitting in front of us are not mere receptacles for ideas, facts, values, trends, data, or events. Those sitting in front of us are caught up in the pressure-cooker of modern life. Students of all ages are sometimes seething with feelings that are incomprehensible, with a sense of helplessness, hopelessness, and no sense of the future. Setting a course in uncharted territory, their feelings may be emotionally debilitating, with ideas that confuse rather than clarify, and with demands that would defy Hercules. Just as adults can be overwhelmed so can students, and classroom activities may be the last thing they are thinking about.