TEACHING IS A MISSION,NOT A TASK

We judge a nation’s greatness not just through its history, tradition, and culture, but by what priorities its society chooses. Education should be one of the most important tasks for any nation, but when mediocrity rules our schools it threatens everyone’s future.
It is excellence in teaching and learning that we should be concerned with, and in this there is a clear distinction between a “teacher”, an “educator” and a “learner.”
A teacher is one who holds a profession by which he should impart knowledge or skill to his students. Many, however, come to class and deliver their overused notes without observing students’ needs, comprehension and understanding. For them, a classroom is a space they have to be at in a particular time. Unfortunately, China’s lecture halls are full of them.
Several years ago, an elderly professor suggested, “a teacher should just choose the five top students and work with them because the others are no good anyway.” This kind of advice is a symptom of a wider educational illness.
Such teachers let most of the students, especially the weak, fade away and fail. Their lectures are just another chore. In the end, they evaluate their students’ performance and knowledge by their ability to memorize text, not by comprehending and understanding it. These teachers make students good copiers, not original thinkers.
With this kind of teaching, how can we expect students to develop skills at critical thinking? Will they know how to find alternatives and make real choices? Will they be able to communicate with others correctly? Can they make a tangible contribution to society and elevate the nation to new heights?
An educator, on the other hand, provides an overall intellectual, moral, and social instruction to his students. He is a wise and learned person, respected for his knowledge, judgment and wisdom. He cares about all his students, whatever their abilities, and provides an understanding of the future they will be facing. It is a mission rather than a profession.
This educator sees teaching as a responsibility, not just another job. Through his or her students become not only good learners, but also people who can actively contribute to society.
Universities are meant to educate for life and for a profession. The mission of an educator is to carry out an exchange, a process of requirements, responsibilities, and obligations that leads to wider knowledge, and thus to better performance and higher results by all students, weak or strong.
A good educator should lead the way for his students, never giving up his responsibilities and obligations even at the cost of criticism and popularity pressure. He should constantly ask whether they are ready to carry society’s hopes.
Chinese students are bright young people. They are constantly under the pressure of their studies. Their many assignments are a heavy burden added to other matters they must face.
Nonetheless most of them know that reused notes and textbooks alone do not replace information and exchange of ideas. They should be open-minded and participate in any intellectual activity. But bad teachers promote an absence of such, and as a result many students purposefully deceive themselves, and most of all – the society which they hope to be part of. Today our school system has too many second-rate teachers and too few educators. Under such circumstances, many students do not understand that responsibilities are important for their future as people and employees. Thus, there is a contradiction between their race for university qualifications and their future performance as supposedly qualified graduates. It is a liability for China’s harmonious society, for future excellence and for ultimate national advancement. Students are the next generation of Chinese leadership, but their training lies in the hands of many second-rate teachers and only a few educators.