Teaching

Teaching is the process by which a person helps other people learn. It is one of the most important activities. Teaching helps people gain the knowledge and attitudes they need to be responsible citizens, earn a living, and lead a useful, rewarding life. It also provides the chief means of passing knowledge to the next generation. Without teachers, people would have to learn everything by themselves. Few people could learn on their own to get along in the world. The world would change greatly as humanity lost the knowledge, skills, and ideals inherited from past generations.

More people belong to the teaching profession than to any other. About 37 million men and women throughout the world are teachers. Ukraine has about tens of thousands of teachers.

The teaching profession has developed mainly since the early 1800’s, when the first teacher-training schools began in western Europe. Before then, schoolteachers received little or no special training. Today, most countries require teachers to complete a professional training program and to meet professional standards.

A teacher’s job

A teacher’s job involves four main duties. (1) Teachers must prepare for their classes. (2) Teachers guide, or assist, the learning of students. (3) They must check student progress. (4) Teachers must set a good example for their students.

Before each class session, a teacher must do such things as review subject matter, prepare learning activities, and plan special projects. This preparation is often called a daily lesson plan.

Most teachers use a variety of methods and materials, to guide their students’ learning.

Also, teachers give written or oral tests to help evaluate the progress of their students. By analyzing the test results of all the students in a group teachers can discover which students need special help and decide what kind of help they need.

Teachers often help students more by their example than they do in any other way. One of the most important ways that teachers set an example is by showing such qualities as patience, understanding, trustworthiness, and attention to work. Students who see these qualities in their teachers may be encouraged to develop similar qualities in themselves.

School

School is one of our most important institutions. Schools teach reading, writing, the use of mathematics, and other basic skills needed in everyday life. Schools increase people’s knowledge of the world and themselves and help them understand the rapid changes that take place in modern society. Schools prepare people for jobs and careers and help them develop interests that make their leisure time more rewarding. In schools, students learn their responsibilities and rights as citizens, improve their ability to think critically, and develop such basic values as truth, justice, and equality. Human knowledge is extended through research carried out in schools.

People throughout the world attend school. But the quality varies widely among countries. The industrialized nations have well- developed educational systems. They provide substantial financial support for their schools. Most of the schools have skilled teachers, modern equipment, and a variety of educational materials.