Is the role of teachers only handing down knowledge to students?, or?

Question

do they have anything to do with their moral, ethical, and spiritual formation?

Answer 1

Teachers have a bigger role than even you hint at.

Teaching, by default shapes moral, ethical, spiritual, cultural, behavioural, prejudice and just about any other aspects of a students psychological make-up.

While schools may primarily hire teachers to present knowledge, colleges and universities train teachers in many non-knowledge based courses. Conflict resolution, group management and much much more.

Answer 2

I would hope that teachers aren't just handing down knowledge, that isn't helpful in the long run. Teachers are to help students learn-how to find knowledge. I think teachers do work with moral, ethical, and spiritual formation-but probably not directly. By setting an environment in the classroom the teacher can "teach" morals & ethics by setting an example and allowing or not allowing certain behaviors.

Answer 3

I think it would depend upon the schools system in part because some schools are content to present knowledge without regard to moral or ethical issues, let alone spiritual formation.
The perfect teacher would satisfy the curiousity of a student while stimulating even more curiosity, teach at least a basic morality and sense of ethics necessary to survive in todays world, and only those teachers in a recognized religious type school should teach any spiritual values while at the same time not forbidding a student from praying if it is a part of his or her religion unless it is disruptive to other students.

Answer 4

Teachers are shaping the minds of future generations and I think moral and ethical codes fall under that. Not so much spiritual however because that is suppose to be left out of school.

Answer 5

A teacher should be responsible for knowledge only, if they are to teach morality, ethics, spirituality, and political ideology then they should be neutral on such subjects and I haven't met a single teacher or professor who did not interject their own beliefs into such ideals. These matters are better left to parents and eventually the person to develop on their own.

Answer 6

No to spiritual. That belongs at home or church.

Morals and ethics can be taught without involving spiritual teachings, and I think they will come to play in some teacher's classes. Literature, health, social sciences, etc,

Answer 7

Absolutely. I would credit my teachers for having shaped my beliefs and morals almost as much as my parents.

My teachers hvae modeled what I want to be in the future, have inspired me to be positive, and given me the confidence to interact with other people.

If "only handing down knowledge" is what I do as a future teacher, I'll have failed.

Answer 8

The best teachers don't just hand down knowledge. They teach their students how to learn--so that someday, their students will no longer need them.

Answer 9

Teachers have greater role to play in the society but that right is not given to them.

Answer 10

No they work less than 8 hours a day, work 9 months out of the year, and celebrate all the holidays and cry about how underpaid they are and have their union lobby for another law to increase taxes.