The roles teachers play from day to day are as varied as the topics taught throughout elementary, middle and high schools each day. Long gone are the teaching methods where the teacher gets up in the front of the room and reads all day out of a pre-planned text or lesson book prepared by the state or district, and then gives you quizzes to evaluate how much you've absorbed. At the pace at which society and technology are moving our children would not be able to keep up if the old style of lecture teaching was to remain the norm.
From my experience as an instructor at the university level teaching Army ROTC leadership and physical fitness at UVU and first hand observations over the last month in a 5th grade classroom, the most important role that teachers play in the lives of our young students is that of role model. Everything that is taught or established would not be possible if the students did not see that teacher as a role model first and foremost. For without showing them that they themselves as teachers are proficient in the task or subject to be taught, the student cannot fully accept with confidence the teachers abilities and in turn their own ability to learn from said teacher.
A role model is someone who provides an example and models what right and/or wrong looks like. Here's an example of what I'm speaking about; every Tuesday morning I visit a 5th grade class and observe the teacher tell everyone to get out of their seats and being morning warm-up exercises to get their physical bodies ready to learn. She is the first to stand up and as she gives commands of what exercise is to begin, she is actively showing them how it is to be completed. All the kids' eyes are on her! If she moves, they move. When she stops, they stop. And so she purposely moves through modeling what correct warm-ups are to be. When they are complete with the physical modeling exercise she has them all actively move to a huddle on the floor at the front of the room, gathering around her as she sits in a chair next to a small dry erase board. There, once again all eyes are trained on her as she re-states what they worked on math-wise the day before. Intently, they raise hands and answer her review questions. And as she talks them through these reviews she writes out the problem she is reviewing with them. This is not only for their mental edification but also for modeling of herself as that active role-model. She is giving them confidence in her abilities as a teacher of math by her showing them she is efficient and knows how to complete what she is going to teach them. She is role-modeling technical proficiency.
There are three 5th grade classrooms where I have spent time observing role modeling. The teacher from the above example models an organized, tidy and efficient experience for the kids in her classroom. Thus, her room is neatly kept, boxes with supplies are neatly labeled and stacked. Books are on shelves in order. And the students have seen this example by the teacher and do their best to keep their own desks and work areas the same. The second teacher of the three is similar to the first teacher. Her room is relatively tidy, though not as neat as the first's and the kids are spoken to in a respectful yet firm manner. Their own desk are well put together, though not neatly kept. Third teacher in my opinion is not the best role model when it comes to tidiness or communication. Compared to teacher number one her room is a shamble and cluttered. Boxes of supplies are stack half hazardly on shelves wherever they can be made to fit. There are stacks and stacks of graded and ungraded sheets of paper/homework everywhere around the room. The floors are littered with various bits of debris and paper bits. When this teacher speaks to her students she nearly has to yell to gain their attention and get them to do what she wants them to do. In kind, the students do not as quickly respond to her as the previous two teachers' students do. She is constantly raising her voice and repeating herself. So, what do you think the students do when they speak to one another or are dealing with other teachers or teacher aides? Yep, you guessed it-they speak loudly, they don't immediately listen or give respect. Their desks are cluttered receptacles where papers and books get shoved, modeling the overall lack of upkeep of the teacher's classroom.
If a leader, which is really what a teacher is, cannot properly model the role she wants the students to lead and play as students, how can she expect them to actively contribute and be successful as students? Most of these children do not get the in-depth education in their lies that teachers give them. These teachers are like parents to them. They spend more quality time with them each week then any of their family will during the formative schooling years. They are indeed role-models for them, giving them the foundation of what a proper student and human being should be, know and do throughout their schooling.
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