Week 3: Teacher Role

After reading this chapter, I felt very confident in the decision I've made to become an educator. The chapter starts off by defining teaching. Is it seen as a job, a vocation, work, a career, an occupation, or a profession? This is something to really take into consideration when looking at what the future holds for many of us. Each definition of the words provides a good idea of what the outlook to being an educator means. I agree with Hansen's statement that it is "the language of vocation that 'brings us closer to what many teachers do, and why they do it'" (6). I look at my own reasons for going in to the field of education.

Kumar then goes on to explain the different (yet not so different) roles of the teacher. There are 3 main roles that are discussed through out the chapter and those are: the teacher as a passive technician, the teacher as a reflective practitioner, and the teacher as a transformative intellectual. The first one has to do with research and studies, the second with the mind and abstract thinking, and the last one has to do with teaching students material while helping them become functional people of society.

In my opinion, I believe that the third role of the teacher is one of the most important ones. Being able to teach your students material while also including activities and such in which they are transforming slowly into functional beings of society is something that's somewhat close to remarkable. After reading the three roles that the teachers of our world possess, you're looking at someone who is a little of everything. As stated on page 7, "the teacher has been variously referred to as an artist and an architect; a scientist and a psychologist; a sage on the stage; a guide on the side; and more" (Kumar), this is what a teacher is. A teacher is someone who is always participating in critical engagement.

Because of the various roles and definitions that educators possess, I'm sometimes baffled by the misrepresentation and underrepresentation of teachers. People out there sit and think that the medical and other fields are more important than that of education. In reality, I believe that because of the different things that teachers must do in the several environments and situations they may find themselves in all while at the same time teaching students the content of the class and the ways of life; they are the most important. Where would we be if it weren't for our own teachers?