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What is a teacher, and how should we define it? In the dictionary, the definition of a teacher is "a person who teaches or instructs, esp. as a profession; instructor. " However, it seems that it cannot satisfy us with such a definition, because there are more notions related to a teacher.

Some believe that a teacher is a person who can "propagate the doctrine, impart professional knowledge, and resolve the doubts" to the students. This is the idea from "On Teachers" by Han Yu, a famous ancient Chinese writer. He told us that there are three basic functions of a teacher: to lecture doctrines, to teach knowledge, and to answer the questions raised by the students.

In this sense, therefore, a teacher should teach not only knowledge, and they should take responsibility to foster the morality and virtues of the students. Personally, I respect teachers of all subjects and all grades, because I think that they are engaged in a project that affects the soul of human beings. Also, a teacher lights the road for the students to march to their future.

True, a teacher teaches the students knowledge, and they tell the students how to be a good and successful person. Also, they help the students to find effective ways to learn what we learn. He or she teaches the skills of fishing, as well as gives the students fish. A teacher helps to broaden the students' views. A teacher can function like the parents of the students in some stages, and there is a famous saying, "one day a teacher, time life a father." The teacher has great influence on the students. True, the teacher has greater effects on the students than the parents when the students start their schooling.

This is about a teacher at school, and actually, in a broader sense, the parents can be the children's teachers, too. They teach their children to speak, to do so many things. And, the parents are said to be the first teachers of the children. This is the teacher in this sense. Confucius said that there must be a teacher of mine when there were three of us walking together. He told us that we could learn from any person around us.

No matter what the definition of a teacher is, we know that influence on us from a teacher is great, sometimes, it can last for a life time. The teacher helps the students to frees their mind, spirit and soul. Therefore, it is glorious occupation. I admire this kind of job.

If there is a chance for me to be a teacher, I would take it, and I think that I could be a good teacher, and I am confident of that. I respect the teachers.

Learn more about this author, Lisa Bells.
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