A well known adage from India says "Acharya devo bhava, " which means teachers are
next to God. Right from the ancient times, teachers are put on the highest position. It
is a highly debatable topic whether teachers should be concerned with only academics
or also teach manners and etiquettes to children. In this essay I intend to discuss both
sides of the argument.
Teacher is like a potter who moulds the earthen vessels in whichever form he wants. A
child's mind is like raw clay and is very much ready to be moulded in the shape it is
guided to. A good teacher always feels responsible to develop a child's conscience. He
has the potential to become a friend, philosopher and guide for his students. With this
special position in students' life, he often acts as their role model. His words highly
influence the minds of the students. Students always try to imitate his actions or
implement his teachings, so he has to be much careful of his behaviour. So, in that
respect a teacher has a much more role than just teaching academic subjects.
Furthermore, teachers convey many good things to parents and society through
students in many parts of the world. For example, in Nepal, where illiteracy rate is
very high, teachers convey many valuable messages such as of personal hygiene
through students. When a student goes home and tells his parents that my teacher
says we should wash hands before meals, then parents listen. In such set-ups teachers
are playing a much greater role than academicians.
On the other hand, those who say that teachers should only concentrate on teaching
course material, argue that competition is stiff and if children lag behind in curriculum,
they will never be able to catch up with their counterparts in other parts of today’s
global village. They opine that rules of behaviour can be taught by parents at home.
In conclusion, I believe that teachers have a much bigger role than just covering the
syllabus. 
A well known adage from India says  
"
 Acharya
  devo
  bhava
,  
" 
which means  
teachers
 are 
next
 to God. Right from the ancient times,  
teachers
  are put
 on the highest position. It
is a  
highly
 debatable topic whether  
teachers
 should  
be concerned
 with  
only
 academics
or  
also
 teach manners and  
etiquettes
 to children. In this essay I intend to discuss both
sides of the argument.
Teacher is like a potter who  
moulds
 the earthen vessels in whichever form he wants. A
child's mind is like raw clay and is  
very
  much
 ready to be  
moulded
 in the shape it  
is
guided
 to. A  
good
  teacher
 always feels responsible to develop a child's conscience. He
has the potential to become a friend, philosopher and guide for his  
students
. With this
special position in students' life, he  
often
 acts as their  
role
 model. His words  
highly
influence the minds of the  
students
.  
Students
 always try to imitate his actions or
implement his teachings,  
so
 he  
has to
 be  
much
 careful of his  
behaviour
.  
So
, in that
respect a  
teacher
 has a  
much
 more  
role
 than  
just
 teaching academic subjects. 
Furthermore
,  
teachers
 convey  
many
  good
 things to  
parents
 and society through
students in  
many
 parts of the world.  
For example
, in Nepal, where illiteracy rate is 
very
 high,  
teachers
 convey  
many
 valuable messages such as of personal hygiene
through  
students
. When a  
student
 goes home and  
tells
 his  
parents
 that my teacher
says we should wash hands  
before
 meals, then  
parents
 listen. In such set-ups teachers
are playing a  
much
 greater  
role
 than academicians. 
On the other hand
, those who say that  
teachers
 should  
only
 concentrate on teaching
course material, argue that competition is stiff and if children lag behind in curriculum,
they will never be able to catch up with their counterparts in other parts of  
today
’s
global village. They opine that  
rules
 of  
behaviour
 can  
be taught
 by  
parents
 at home. 
In conclusion
, I believe that  
teachers
 have a  
much
 bigger  
role
 than  
just
 covering the
syllabus.