Times Of Swaziland: IMPORTANCE OF TEACHERS IMPORTANCE OF TEACHERS ================================================================================ Editor on 09/12/2022 08:20:00 Sir, Teachers play a crucial role in the development of children. It takes more than a qualification to be a good teacher and many people do not understand that. Being a teacher requires care and love, because a teacher is like a parent and students spend more time with teachers in schools more than their parents. Educators are the ones that invest knowledge into learner’s lives, instill skills and competences. They are able to change pupil’s perspective about life; impose the right attitude and mindset. The greatest tool that could be used to change the world is through education because that’s where our lives are built. As a pupil sometimes you enter classroom emotionally disturbed - you feel demotivated, but when you meet a teacher who is a teacher by calling; he/she is able to cater for your emotional needs and gives you meaning to life. Teaching is not a career that is a game, it needs to be taken seriously because a mistake from a teacher ruin lives. Sometimes the atmosphere from home is not conducive, but school is where our desire for education is enhanced, as we are encouraged by the words of teachers. For me a good teachers is not the one that adequately gives academic content, but it’s the one who also gives knowledge about life, train students to be able to make sense about life; discover their capabilities and skills. Students also inherit the teacher’s energy, beliefs and perceptions, so it matters what they listen and who they listen to. Not everyone has what it takes to disseminate right information that could inculcate distinct morals, values and competencies. Teachers need to be sensitive in their work since they are responsible for cultivating confidence, dreams and students attitude towards life. Teachers should not only help students who are brilliant to qualify for university, but should also help those who are less academically capable to be open minded about businesses and talents. Philisiwe Mdluli