Analyzing an Argumentative Essay: The Role of Teachers in the Educational Process

Hansa Hasgur
Turkey
ESOL 400
Fall 2007

“Pupils are most like oysters than sausages. The job of teaching is not to stuff them and then seal them up, but to help them open and reveal the riches within” (Harris, p.5). In his article “What True Education Should Do,” Sydney J. Harris stated that true education is to give the opportunity to students to reveal their real capacity, which is actually inside of them, rather than stuffing their brain with information. I partly agree with this idea. For me, education is to give the necessary information and knowledge about various or specific topics to the students and after that, let them add their own interpretations and understandings.

According to Sydney J. Harris, the role of the teacher is to elicit knowledge that students have inside them (Harris, p.5). However, if we say, “All people have the knowledge of everything somewhere inside of them and we should let them be free to show it,” then what is the role of education and teachers? That kind of idea is like expecting a seed to become a tree without putting it into the earth. If we do not put the seed into the earth and irrigate it regularly, we cannot expect it to become a tree. In my opinion, the primary mission of a teacher is putting the seed into the earth and irrigating it with his/her knowledge and experience. Without true knowledge and information, we cannot expect students to become today’s real intellectuals or scientists. There are certain ideas and concepts that students need to internalize. Without any facts, concepts or information, how can students begin to think, and what can they think about?

On the other hand, giving information to students does not mean that stuffing them with information that makes them unable to think. As Harris clearly stated in his article, education is understood by most people as stuffing information into the brains of students (Harris, p.5). That will be a kind of strict education that does not allow students to use their own interpretations or imagination. The most valuable education should be flexible enough to let the students think and learn by themselves, and should lead them with the light of knowledge.

In some countries, education generally depends on rote learning. Teachers or professors make the students learn their lessons by heart. Students learn their lessons by rote just to pass the exams, and after that, all the information is deleted from their minds. They never learn anything in reality. Harris emphasized this situation in his article by quoting from a student, “I spend so much time studying that I don’t have a chance to learn anything” (Harris, p.5). That is not a good form of education. In fact, if students forget everything immediately after the exam, such “learning” is really a waste of time, and is not really “learning” at all. The key factor in successful learning should be critical thinking. If the students can learn how to think critically, it facilitates the process for education both teachers and students.

I agree with Harris that students are not sausages. Each student has his/her own capacity to become successful and waits to reveal it. If we create the most suitable learning environment for them, they will eventually blossom like seeds, which we put into the earth and take care of. However, if we think students as oysters and expect them to reveal their riches without doing anything, there might be no outcome. In order to get good results, we need to give education to the students and encourage them to make their own way. In my opinion, this is the best definition of education.

In education, the role of teacher is to show students the way to success, by encouraging them and helping them to become more confident. Each student has the potential to become an independent thinker. In my opinion, in the educational process it is essential for the students to criticize and discuss opinions to become real intellectuals. The goal of a teacher should be to give the necessary information to the students and then encourage them to become active learners by questioning or discussing the issues. True education should give the specific information to the students which they need in order to become specialists in their field of study, and should teach them how to criticize. The actual duty of teachers is to illuminate the road to success with their knowledge and experience for their students and to guide them to achieve their goals.