by Pilar Witt

Created on: August 24, 2007   Last Updated: March 08, 2008

One student means nothing, but when there is a general tendency for low/high scores, it is quite true that teachers are to be held accountable. Else, their role is not being that of teaching, just that of reading books to students.

Teaching is "transmitting" knowledge and this means that students grasp what lies behind the words, that they understand and make their own connections. To make them ready to face the real world with that knowledge, not just with the words.

Of course there are better and worse students, but sometimes a whole class or even a whole (high)school gets bad marks... In that case, is not the student to blame, qualifications are just mirroring the quality and experience of the teacher(s).

I think that many times, mainly because of tight schedules, teachers just go for the words, for the books, not really for the knowledge, and that is what shows out in tests and low student scores.

So yes, teachers are to be blamed, but bearing in mind that it may have to do with the pressing of nowadays society, and the contents that have to be taught per year... although a good teacher, a vocational one, would not let this happen.

And just to leave things clear, I would like to add that when the students of a given teacher always obtain the best marks, it is also because of the good work of that teacher.

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