The role of teachers inside the classroom

Stefanny Sierra Martinez

University of Quindío
Modern Languages
Methodology II
April 15, 2
 The role of teachers inside the classroom

Currently, the real role of teachers and their importance in the classroom are completely

unknown by a large number of people. Since, it is said that their role is only to attend a

classroom and explain a particular topic to a group of people, whether they are children or adults.

It has been raised because it was once believed that education was rigid and strict where the

teacher was dominant and he never interested in students or thought of anything beyond dictating

a topic. However, due to the modernity and evolution of the world in recent years, this concept

has been analyzed and reconsidered, discovering that being a teacher goes beyond planning

information lessons, where his role in the classroom transcends to another level, being of great

importance in the student’s life. Therefore, teachers must currently be willing to accept those

changes and assume the appropriate role before their students to teach, guide and measure them

in their learning process, leaving behind rudimentary practices and also form critical,

autonomous and safe beings before the different life situations.

The role of teachers in the classroom is of great relevance to students, since much of their

learning depends of the teacher. It is known that the basic characteristic in his role is to teach or

share knowledge. So, many teachers believe that the action "to teach" is to inject information

from brain to brain, as the pedagogy expert Freire (1970) says: '' The responsibility of the

educator is greater in all the senses than to transmit information so that the learners memorize it

as machines’’. Therefore, the role as "teacher" must be assumed with such responsibility and

interest to form beings with critical thinking, so that each one can solve and learn regardless of

the social or cultural aspect that surrounds it. For this, the teacher does not impose his content

but looks for topics of interest along with his students that lead them to a mutual learning along

the way of an education, where he also creates spaces for dialogue to analyze the life situations
and to obtain a true knowledge from it. So, the teacher's ability is to prepare this environment

for the students and to achieve this so that they can learn without assistance, as Montessori

(1909) says: "The greatest sign of a teacher's success is being able to say: children are working

and learning as if I did not exist”. Therefore, the main role of the teacher should be to adapt the

student's work environment, thus enhancing his sensitivity to the environment and his

capabilities, with an appropriate environment adapted to his age. With this, the teacher must

ensure that the child acquires knowledge permanently, that is, he is always able to learn

regardless of whether it is one time or another, in this way he will always be curious to learn with

the guidance of his teacher.

Likewise, teaching is not only to facilitate the best learning environment, but also to guide the

learner, so that he can learn more and better. Therefore, as the Cuban pedagogue Verona

expressed that "Who says teacher, says guide", the good teacher guides the entire teaching-

learning process, supervises, formulates goals, helps in the difficulties that arise, evaluates and

redirects what has been learned to form autonomous people. Therefore, it is necessary that the

teacher can create an atmosphere in the classroom that invites everyone to investigate, to learn,

to build their learning, and not only to follow what he does or says, as Piaget (1947) says: '' It is

important to guide students, who learn early to investigate on their own, always keeping in mind

that acquisitions and discoveries made by themselves are much more enriching and productive

‘‘. In general, the main goals of education and teachers in particular are: first, to create people

who are capable of forming new things, creators and inventors, to train minds that are able to

criticize, verify and not accept everything that it is exposed to them. So, this is very important in

today's society since the dangers are, among others, to fall into the culture of ignorant or directed
thinking, for which the role of the facilitating and guiding teacher is very fundamental in the

students’ life.

Therefore, although students must be encouraged by teachers to be critical and autonomous, it

is also necessary that they be measured by them to evaluate their learning process. Since, the

evaluation is a key element to guarantee the quality of the teaching-learning process, because it

allows to establish if the objectives are being reached and what is the evolution rhythm of each

student, to reinforce and create a security in themselves about their knowledge. So, according to

Maccario (1989): "Evaluation is the act that consists in issuing a value judgment, based on a set

of information about the evolution or results of a student, in order to make a decision".

Therefore, this value judgment should not be to judge and punish students, but to find the correct

way to help them acquire permanent knowledge, just as Lafourcade (1972) says: "The

measurement is destined to achieve lasting and positive changes in the behavior of the subjects,

integrated to it, based on objectives defined in a concrete, precise, social and individually

acceptable way’’. So, this is of great importance in the role of teachers to create a security in

students about their abilities, skills and acquired knowledge, which will help them solve and

overcome many situations in their lives.

In conclusion, although for years, the role of teachers has been ruled as an 'easy' job, it can be

shown that this is not true. Since, in the classroom, their role transcends to another level to worry

about forming integral beings with critical thinking, autonomy and self-assurance, assuming the

proper role to teach, guide and measure them correctly. Therefore, teachers are very important

people for students because they are the ones who share a lot of time in a classroom, being as a

reference and support for many of them, for which it is necessary that teachers assume their role

professionally and are exemplary figures of help and support for their students.
 Bibliographic references

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http://www.chasque.net/gamolnar/evaluacion%20educativa/evaluacion.01.html

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