Some people think that students are influenced more by their teachers than by their friends. However, I disagree with this statement for two reasons: Most students spend time with their friends, and they can mimic their friends' behavior.
To begin with, most students spend more time with their friends than their teacher. While students usually meet teachers only in classes, their friends, the biggest influence, encompass them and see them more frequently. For example, when I was a middle school student, I used to hang out with my friends who were not interested in study. The more time I spend with them, the lower my grades got. Even though my teacher advised me to study, I did not follow the advice because I was always with my friends.
On top of that, students are likely to imitate what peers do. It is easy for a student to follow his friend's example. According to a study, when a student was urged to study by his or her teacher, he or she seldom accepted it. However, when one of his closest friends started on studying, he imitated his friend. This demonstrates that a student's behavior is influenced more by his or her friend than his teacher.
To sum up, most students spend their time being with their peers rather than teachers, and they mimic their friends' act easily. In this regard, I believe that friends have a greater influence on students than teachers do. |