Teacher
Definition
Teacher is a partially interactive provider of knowledge for students.
Exclusions
Throughout SuperMemo Guru, the teacher is primarily understood as a schoolteacher, i.e. an employee of the school systems. For private one-on-one teachers, I try to stick to the term tutor. Educators, mentors, gurus and role models do not qualify either unless they are school teachers at the same time.
I exclude parents from the definition of the teacher even though they are often considered most important teachers. I am not a teacher either. What I provide at SuperMemo Guru are just my thoughts that students and adults can consume voluntarily.
Teachers are great
All teachers I know are lovely people. All teachers I talk to regularly are highly intelligent and deeply concerned about the well-being of their students. This does not mean that all teachers are great. I often meet teachers who just refuse to talk. When they know that I am a "man with an agenda" (i.e. I write texts that denounce compulsory schooling), they may be doubly reluctant. In that excluded set of mute teachers, there must be some bad apples. After all, I also talk to kids, and they nearly always can point to some awful teachers doing some awful things. I also had an awful teacher that years later turned out to be a lovely lady.
Bad apples
Kids are often wrong when judging their teachers. They can see only one side of the picture. However, when children are unhappy at school, we always need to look for some change. Great teachers also need to change if they contribute to that unhappiness. Sadly, more often than not, they cannot change because they are part of a coercive system. Their job and pay often depend on doing things that harm children.
Do we need teachers?
See: Do we need teachers?
This glossary entry is used to explain "I would never send my kids to school" (2017-2024) by Piotr Wozniak