Teacher: The Designer of National Architecture

Teacher: The Designer of National Architecture

SIMON WELDEMICHAEL

October 7, 2016

Professionals compete with each other to claim their place and prominence in national development. A teacher’s influence is, however, felt in all sectors of the country. Since all professionals and workers within the society have at one time or another been taught by a teacher, it is quite apt to say that a “teacher is the designer of national architecture.” Civil servants, military personnel, politicians, religious leaders, artists and thinkers, skilled persons, and other professionals are the outcome of what teachers have passed on to them. The saying that no nation ever rises above the quality of its teachers demonstrates the fundamental importance of teachers in a society.

Teachers help develop and cultivate youth into responsible, creative and productive citizens. Education is a proven instrument for sustainable development and a vehicle for advancing the boundaries of knowledge. The significance of education as a weapon against ignorance, disease, poverty and backwardness is hardly in doubt.

Teachers can play a positive role in helping our nation overcome the various challenges and obstacles it currently faces. Eritrea, a young and developing country, faces multiple challenges, including poverty and ignorance. The solution to these partly lies in education, the eradication of illiteracy, and the emancipation from the shackles of ignorance. A teacher teaches a combination of facts, skill, knowledge and behavior to students in an orderly manner, and as a mentor can improve the performance of students through encouragement and support. Moreover, it is education that unlocks the door to modernization and sustainable development and it is the teacher that holds the key to the door. Thus, the teacher has the responsibility of translating educational policies into practice and programs into action.

Though the future is said to be uncertain, a teacher is often nearer to envisaging it. Future economic development, health, production, and culture, amongst other things, are often defined by teachers. Teaching requires faith, patience and perseverance, and unlike many other activities, the fruits of teaching are not seen quickly.

Though the teacher is available everywhere the very existence of teacher is at school. Society gets warmth from the fire of education lighted by teacher in schools. A teacher increases students’ knowledge of the world and themselves, and helps them to understand skills, technology, and rapid socio-political changes. A teacher also teaches students about important values, ethics, responsibilities, and rights.

Teachers transform our weaknesses, and allow us to become powerful, creative, and productive social beings. As well, teachers play a great role in empowering people and developing human capital; thus teaching serves as a great agent of development, nation-building, and transformation.

One of the main duties of a teacher is to create a stable state of mind in the society so as to move the nation on the track of development and progress. Through teaching, a nation and a people can develop and preserve a strong national spirit. Protecting the mental sovereignty and integrity of a society is an important duty of a teacher.

In modern times, the nature and effectiveness of power have been changed dramatically. Protecting and ensuring the mind of people is becoming harder than protecting the territorial integrity of a country. Hard power is outfitted by soft power. Weapons of mass deception are more effective and efficient than weapons of mass destruction. The responsibility of a teacher in the modern world can also involve equipping students with up-to-date information, knowledge, skills, and critical thinking.

Here again, teachers have two responsibilities of equal importance: to cultivate the potential ability and enhance the spirit of students. As a trainer, one should not concentrate only on imparting knowledge and skills. Equal attention should also be given to the cultivation and enhancement of the spirit. Knowledge and skill alone cannot make a person a productive, creative motor of development. Ability without a sound spirit and character is good for nothing.

The lofty duty of a teacher is to cleanse the society from the dust of ignorance and to make visible the future of the country. In countries like Eritrea, the role and the expectation placed upon teachers is tremendously high. In order to answer such expectations, every Eritrean teacher has to embrace certain elements, including teaching skills, personal qualities, subject-matter expertise and knowledge, and bold spirit. In Eritrea, teacher is not a title given after the attainment of certain skill or knowledge. It’s a heavy responsibility taken for the realization of the dream of our martyrs.

Teachers create and instill hope. Confucius made a connection between education and hope, saying, “education breeds confidence. Confidence breeds hope. Hope breeds peace”. The reserve of national morale is filled from the hope that springs from teachers. On an individual and national level, no single step can move without hope. Hope to live, hope to work, hope to change, hope to dream for a better future, and hope to hope.

Teachers are also a very important source of inspiration. William A. Ward suggests that “the mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires”. According to him, the task of a teacher should bypass telling and explaining facts; instead, teachers should emphasize inspiring students. Teaching is more than imparting knowledge, it is about inspiring change. Similarly, learning is about more than absorbing facts, it is about acquiring understanding and motivation.

The future of our country is largely falls on the shoulders of devoted teachers and learners. In this case, the major task of Eritrean teachers is to help young students to understand the real conditions and challenges faced by our country. All the social, economic and political ills clouding the sky are only going to disappear through a united effort of the young that today sits on classrooms. Every teacher must tell your students that the future of Eritrea is a field to be ploughed by them to produce enough grain.

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