Who deserves to be called a teacher?
Recently, I have been helping one person with their English. They are participating in a writing challenge. The goal of it is to write a new post every single day for the whole December. Although I am absolutely aware I am not a perfect English speaker, more precisely writer in this case, I am capable of correcting basic mistakes they make. That person seems to appreciate my help. And looking back on my own journey, there have been so many kind people who corrected me, supported me, and answered my questions. Thanks to those strangers and more familiar individuals, I have improved so much.
It is a fun experience for me to work so closely with another learner. I have been rather careful to point out those things where I can explain what is wrong, and why it is so. Other times, when my gut feelings tell me something is incorrect without any extra explanations, I decide to keep it for myself. Overall, I tend to reference discussions from different learning forums. I have always liked using these. Not only do they clear things for me, but they gently remind me as well that there is always someone smarter than me.
I honestly love helping other students with their English. I still have this yearning for teaching English in me, which I gave up a few years ago. It is a bit uncomfortable to think about it in terms of work; it seems to me that more and more teachers are devoured and unappreciated by the educational system. In addition, I don't like what I see around me — how exactly children are learning nowadays. The dependence on technology is unhealthy. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind incorporating some materials with them. Though it is crucial to maintain a balance.
Who knows, I might become one of those active members on learning forums, who regularly answer a lot of questions in different threads. I feel like teaching of any form is something I really crave in my life. Keeping all my knowledge and experience to myself is not fulfilling at all. I see that these abstract things are valuable only if I pass them along. At the moment, it is a rare occasion for me since I am not really confident in my own language skills, let alone teaching others.
For a long time, I have had some thoughts on teachers in my head. I believe we've seen a visible increase in the number of self-taught teachers in the recent years. It does not sound bad to me; however, I wonder if all of them deserve to be called a teacher. According to the Cambridge dictionary, a teacher is someone whose job is to teach in a school or college. While it is factually true, I can't bring myself to call all people who teach in schools and universities teachers. There are too many cases when a "teacher" kills a student's interest in their subject. I understand it happens due to various reasons. And I don't mean to blame teachers in every case. I am trying to say exactly what I have mentioned — not every teacher deserves to be called a teacher. Why do I think so though?
To understand my sentiment, it is worth going from the opposite direction. What are the ingredients of a teacher?
First things first, they should be friendly. I frankly can't stand how it works in formal institutions. In my book, respect and politeness to teachers can be shown without creating a status gap. Secondly, they should be competent in the information they teach. It is true that a teacher never stops learning, or at least they shouldn't. Students' questions often help teachers to think of new ways to explain a topic or concept. It is safe to say teachers get better because of their students as much as students do so because of their teachers.
Even though with the first two criteria I have eliminated one specific type of teachers, it is important to mention them. To me, a good teacher does not teach but tries to help their students understand a subject. It is to address those teachers who have a lot of truly deep knowledge, yet they fail to make it clear for understanding. To explain a difficult concept in simpler words so that a child can understand it is what is actually impressive.
There is one more thing I have been struggling to choose my side on — is it more important for a teacher to be friendly or competent? With competence and a lack of sympathy, it is clear where problems will arise. But how about friendliness? What comes to my mind here is a type of situation where an outgoing person without enough expertise decides to pass their limited knowledge further. Teaching a student the wrong things does not sound fun. Not being able to clearly answer most of the questions a student asks is not a good sign either.
I try to view the matter this way — my genuine best effort counts as long as I am not totally lost in what I am talking about. But to be a teacher by my own definition, I still lack a lot of knowledge. Some teachers can compensate for that lack with their visible enthusiasm to help. However, I wouldn't be able to do so. I would need the balance between being friendly and being knowledgeable. With both in adequate amounts, I could call myself a teacher. In that case, I would only need to be in tune with my self-esteem to see when my enough is good enough.