There are many people who suppose teachers should be able to entertain students. Although this may be true, it can never override the importance of the teacher's ability to 'teach' students. I strongly believe that the teacher's ability to give knowledge to the students is prior to their ability to relate well with students. There are several reasons.
Most importantly, it is better for the student in the future. One bad thing about teachers that are too friendly is that they often neglect the importance of actually teaching the students. Quite often they would just chat with the students and the whole class would have ended. Teachers who don't relate as well with the students tend to be quite strict, and as a result the students are more diciplined. Another thing is that if a teacher teaches well, it is beneficial for the students' future. That is because their grades have to be high in order for them to graduate well. If a teacher is only able to relate well with the students, there would be nothing left in the students' heads in the end.
Furthermore, it is better for the teacher as well. One thing is that teachers sometimes get 'too' close with the students that they lose control over the students. For example, one of my teachers are so 'friendly' that the students have started to actually treat her as a friend, not viewing her as a teacher. The class that she teaches is very ineffective, since noone tries to listen to her when she tries to teach us. Consequently, not many people like her class because they don't feel that they are learning anything from her class. As you can clearly see from this example, being able to teach well is much more important than relating well with the students.
For these two reasons I believe that teachers should be able to teach well, rather than relate well. |