1Philosophy of

Tanner A. Bexson

Teaching

Forever teaching how to think instead of what to think

I believe that teacher is the second person in a childs life that can have a significant
impact on their life, next to the childs parents. The teacher can have such an impact on a student
and a teacher must respect this notion. A teacher will bestow upon a child the first building
blocks of life and a teacher has to recognize and know how important this is. They must have a
higher morality than the general public in order to create a safe atmosphere for all students and
provide peace of mind for parents. A teacher must act like a role model for students and like a
friend when needed. Theres so much more to being a teacher than simply educating. Theres
extra-curricular activity, theres helping the school and the community together as a school,
teaching students about life lessons, laughing, fun, creating a family with your school and just
generally creating a great atmosphere to be in.
Though, a teacher must teach a student how to think, not what to think and themselves
know how to think and not what to think. This is the cornerstone of the inspiring teacher.
Anything in this world can be taught as fact, but that does not mean it is fact. In order to tell the
difference between fact or fiction, a student needs to know how to think, and the foundation of
this is built from inquisition, skepticism and critical thought. To instill a basis for critical,

inquisitive and ever-questioning thought in each student but still, to let them come to their own
conclusions, is the true feat of the ideal teacher. If the teacher did their job right, every student
will come to the best conclusion with respect to the betterment of the self and humanity. The next
generation of humanity depends on this if we are to continually progress as a species.
Educating is the essence of what propagates humanity. Without it, we fail and return to
the roots of our evolution. The next step for humans is completely dependent on what we as

educators do today. The impact of reading that statement should be exciting, awe-inspiring yet,
incredibly hard to digest. The ideal teacher (which is what we should all strive for, though well
never reach it) should read this with trepidation but remain calm knowing they are in the worlds
hardest, most fulfilling and most important profession.