Ask almost any school-aged student around the world to list the most influential people in their lives. Somewhere within that list there is a high likelihood that one of those individuals is a teacher. To many young people teachers are important adult figures. They are sometimes role-models, other times they are encyclopedias, and at yet other times they are life coaches. Even as a beginning teacher I know that I have filled all of these roles at one time or another for different students. I also realize that as I spend more and more time in education, I will more than likely find other roles to fill.
I believe that teachers are important forces for change in all aspects of life. I believe that the definition of educate and change are much the same. If we are not making a difference in the lives of our students then we are not properly educating them.
Teachers are, in many cases, prominent members of the community. They are well educated in their field of expertise and they are often consulted by students or people outside of the school. Teachers are very visible people in the community. Their students recognize them and oftentimes their parents will too. This makes teachers perfect for the role of being an instrument of change within their community.
Teachers can carry out this role in many different ways. Teachers often participate with their students and lead their students in extracurricular activities. Oftentimes these extracurricular groups will do something for the community. They will volunteer for a variety of projects aimed at helping those who are less fortunate or who are in need.
Teachers will often develop extracurricular programs if they see there is a need for them. These particular programs can offer many things for the students. If the school is in a crime infested neighborhood these programs can offer students a safe haven where they can escape the events on the street. These programs can also offer students a chance to get ahead in life. Extra individual help in a certain subject certainly won't cause a student any harm.
Teachers can also encourage their students to get involved in their communities within the classroom. This can be something as simple as a civics teacher getting their students registered to vote; or an earth science teacher having their classes clean up the local pond. There are many ways that teachers play the role of advocate for change. Even if it is just a minor event or project, when all of these minor acts are evaluated cumulatively it is apparent that teachers are vehicles of change.
Communities put a lot into their schools. In return, schools often try to give back to the community. The examples listed above are just a small part of what teachers do to make a difference in their communities. One of the most important things that they do is that they instill these practices and ideals into the minds of the students that they teach. This is the biggest reason that I believe that teachers are the implementers of change within a community.
One individual can only do so much to change an entire community. However, if that individual has been able to capture the hearts and minds of a certain audience, then they can become a much greater influence. This is why I think that effective and respected teachers contribute much more to the improvement of a community than those who are not. If a teacher is seen as a role-model they can fit into this category of leader for change much more so than if they are not seen as a role-model. If a teacher chooses to use this connection that they have with the youth of their community to improve their community, I think that they can be a very effective leader and implementer of positive change.
What is the world, if not a group of hundreds of thousands of communities? Change at the local level often leads to global change, especially if change is happening simultaneously within each individual community. However there are things that a teacher can do to make change occur at the global level.
One of the greatest problems that we face as a global community is cultural barriers. This is especially true for the youth of our nation. Students often have a hard time understanding other cultures and languages. They want the rest of the world to be the same as they are so that they do not experience this confusion. The classroom teacher is in the prime position to alleviate some of this tension.
The foreign language teacher can encourage students to get pen-pals from other nations. History teachers can do the same. Social studies teachers can implement various culture-themed days to expose their students to various cultures from around the world. They can have students research their heritage and report to the students on their cultural background. While it is true that social studies teachers are in a better position than others to implement some of this education, oftentimes other teachers are willing to help out in any way and efforts to introduce students to other cultures can become a school-wide event.
In much the same way that teachers can encourage their students to become involved in local humanitarian efforts, they can encourage them to become involved in global humanitarian efforts as well. Teachers can lead their students in an effort to design and implement a fund raising event for natural disaster victims on the other side of the globe. They can design and implement fund raisers for countries that are ravaged by hunger or disease.
Elementary educators can do many of these same projects. The important thing for educators to do is to start with students early and remind them often that other cultures should be valued. If this type of education is continued until graduation, teachers will be producing students who are worldly. They will most likely be more willing to expose themselves to different cultures and to value those experiences. If educated properly students will gain a sense of common humanity that will encourage them to reach out to others around the world. In this way teachers will become vehicles of positive change in our global community as well as our local community.
It is clear that educators are individuals who can affect change in the world. They do this one day at a time or even one hour at a time. They spend each day with their students in the classroom. They attempt to impart knowledge and wisdom on their students. They attempt to give their students the tools and skills that they need to be successful. Their objective is to develop these individuals mentally and socially to the greatest extent possible. The hope of these efforts being that these students will grow up to be educated, active, productive, and well-rounded citizens of their local and global communities.