There is no doubt that students have spent long time in the school. It is true that the teacher influences in lots of aspects to them, I think it cannot be compared with that their friends do. The reason makes me think like that is a peer group is the most powerfully impactful in students life.
First of all, I think friends are more influence than teachers to students, because students spend loger time with friends than teachers. For example, teachers teach some subjects to students and give some homeworks. However friends share even that time which teachers teach something, and they bond together after school. Even if teachers give some group assignments, they even have to study together. We can`t easily image how long they are hanging around.
There is a Korean proverb "To know someone, just know their friends." Students are still young, they don`t want to be eliminated from their peer group. So they keep trying to do imitate others of the band, even if it`s bad. When I was young, G.I. Joe was prevalent among boys, if didn`t have any G.I. Joe, he couldn`t participate in any conversation. So every boys wanted to have it, although it was very expensive. Parents didn`t enjoy this phenomena, they asked for teacher to forbid the dolls. Finally my class teacher banned them in my class. However boys still enjoyed the new culture secretly, our bond became stronger as it encountered a evil 'the teacher'.
All in all, friends spend longer time than teachers, and they try to imitate each other. So I disagree with the idea that teachers are more influence than friends. |