Another English Essay

[jrivera]

QUESTION: A teacher’s ability to relate well with students is more important than excellent knowledge of the subject being taught.


It is really hard to discuss which of this two abilities is more important, as both of them are compulsory in any good teacher. On one hand, the ability to connect with the students is vital in order to be able to motivate them and to be sure that they are understanding what is being taught. A good teacher should be communicative and empathetic with the students. On the other hand, if the teacher has not a good knowledge about the subject that is being taught, there is few that he or she could do to make the students evolve in their studies.

I think the main point here is what kind of students do we have, and what is the subject being taught. If we are talking about basic or high school students or about about a subject that is not very complicated, such as theoretical driving lessons, the social abilities would be more important than the excellent knowledge. These kinds of students and subjects need an active teacher who can motivate their audience, connect with their specific difficulties and help them in their learning process.

However, when it comes to more complicated subjects or more advances students, the excellent knowledge becomes a “must-have” ability for the teacher. Imagine a quantum-physics class with a friendly teacher that barely know the basics of the subject, and who have to deal with advanced college or PhD students. In this cases, the knowledge is more important than the social abilities. When the students are grown-up persons that know what they want to learn and do not need anybody motivating them, teacher's social abilities are secondary.

In conclusion, there are not a general rule about which abilities are more important in any teacher, but it depends on the context that we are referring to. Perhaps there is an exception to this, as I find one characteristic that I believe is really important for every teacher: their interest in what he or she is doing. To be good at something you must really like it, so a good teacher should either love the subject that he is teaching or like to teach other people. The most they like one (or both) of these aspects of their work, the best teachers they would be.

---Thanks in advance!!! ---

[poli]

Originally Posted by jrivera

QUESTION: A teacher’s ability to relate well with students is more important than excellent knowledge of the subject being taught.


It is really hard to discuss which of thse two abilities are more important, as both of them are compulsory in any good teacher. On one hand, the ability to connect with the students is vital in order to be able to motivate them and to be sure that they are understanding what is being taught. A good teacher should be communicative and empathetic with the students. On the other hand, if the teacher doesn't have good knowledge of the subject that is being taught, there is little that he or she could do to make the students evolve in their studies.

I think the main point here is what kind of students do we have, and what is the subject being taught. If we are talking about basic or high school students or about about a subject that is not very complicated, such as theoretical driving lessons, the social abilities would be more important than the excellent knowledge. Those kinds of students and subjects need an active teacher who can motivate their audience, connect with their specific difficulties and help them in their learning process.

However, when it comes to more complicated subjects or more advanced students, (the) excellent knowledge becomes a “must-have” ability for the teacher. Imagine a quantum-physics class with a friendly teacher that barely knows the basics of the subject, and who has to deal with advanced college or PhD students. In this case, (the) knowledge is more important than the social abilities. When the students are grown-up and know what they want to learn. They do not need anybody motivating them, and teacher's social abilities are secondary.

In conclusion, there aren't general rules about which abilities (you may use skills instead of abilties) are more important in teaching, but it depends upon the subject matter and other circumstances. Perhaps there is an exception to this, as I find one characteristic that I believe is really important for every teacher: their interest in what theyy are is doing. To be good at something you must really like it, so a good teacher should either love the subject that he is teaching or like to teach other people. The more they like one (or both) of these aspects of their work, the better they are at what they
---Thanks in advance!!! ---

----------------

[Glen]

Originally Posted by jrivera

QUESTION: A teacher’s ability to relate well with students is more important than his knowledge, however excellent it may be, of the subject being taught.


It is really hard to discuss which of these two abilities is more important, as both of them are required of any good teacher. On the one hand, an ability to connect with students is vital in order to be able to motivate them and to be sure they understand what is being taught. A good teacher should be communicative and empathetic with the students. On the other hand, if the teacher lacks a good knowledge of the subject being taught, there is little that he or she could do to make the students evolve in their studies.

I think the main point here is, what kind of students do we have, and what is the subject being taught? If we are talking about basic or high school students, or about a subject that is not very complicated - such as theoretical driving lessons - then social abilities would be more important than excellent knowledge. These kinds of students and subjects need an active teacher who can motivate his or her audience, connect with the students' particular difficulties and help them along the learning process.

However, when it comes to more complicated subjects or more advanced students, then excellent knowledge becomes a “must-have” ability for the teacher. Imagine a quantum-physics class with a friendly teacher who barely know the basics of the subject, and who has to deal with advanced college or PhD students. In this case, knowledge is more important than social abilities. When the students are grown-ups who know what they want to learn and do not need anyone to motivate them, then the teacher's social abilities become secondary.

In conclusion, there is no general rule about which abilities are more important in any teacher; it depends on the context that we are referring to. Perhaps there is an exception to this, since I believe there is one characteristic that is really important for every teacher to possess: interest in what he or she is doing. To be good at something you must really like it, so good teachers should either love the subject they are teaching or else love to teach other people. The more they like one (or both) of these aspects of their work, the better they would be as teachers.

---Thanks in advance!!! ---

Just my two cents' worth.

[jrivera]

Thank you two for these corrections. I'll write down and summarize some of them in order to remember the rules better.

- these two abilities are more important, -> i have to pay more attention to this, I make this error a lot: it's plural, it's THESE!!!

- required of v.s. compulsory in -> maybe required sounds better, compulsory may be too formal here, isn't it?

- On THE one hand -> is it necessary to use THE here?

- , the ability v.s. an ability -> I think "the ability" sounds better...

- they are undestanding v.s. they understand -> probably the second is simpler and better.

- doesn't have or lacks -> I understand both are ok. lacks may be more stylish. "has not a good knowledge" es definitely wrong.

- knowledge OF (ok) and "little he can do" instead of "few"... Lol, few is accountable, and little is not.

- their specific difficulties v.s students particular dificulties -> maybe the first one is also ok? Again I have to remember to use PARTICULAR instead or especific or specific!!!! -

- "along the learning process" better than "in their learning process" -> but maybe both are ok.

- a teacher WHO - use who when it is a person. and remember de -s in third person. ok.

- "When the students are grown-ups who know what they want to learn and do not need anyone to motivate them, then the teacher's social abilities become secondary. " I really like how you constructed this sentence.

- "there are not general rules" or "there is no general rule" but never: "there are not a general rule" plural or singular, but not both together! grr, these lack-of-attention errors annoy me.

- it depends on the context that we are referring to -> this probably sounds weird.

- The more ...., the better -> ok, use comparative better than superlative.

I understand the other corrections in the last paragraph by Glen show a better style, but doesn't mean it was really wrong. I'll try to remember them.

Thank you very much!

[Glen]

With pleasure. Just repaying a debt of gratitude for those of you who graciously reviewed a recent translation of mine. Yes, I do like on the one hand better than on one hand because it sounds more figurative and less literal. But that's just me! Good Luck with the essay.

[chileno]

Question: Could it be?

A teacher’s ability to relate well with students is more important than excellence of the knowledge being taught/imparted?

[Rusty]

Originally Posted by chileno

A teacher’s ability to relate well with students is more important than the excellence of the knowledge being taught/imparted?

The definite article is necessary.

[chileno]

Originally Posted by Rusty

The definite article is necessary.

Duh, yes!

I am at work.


Thank you.

[Cloudgazer]

- required of v.s. compulsory in -> maybe required sounds better, compulsory may be too formal here, isn't it?

Both are fine. I think the choice between "required of" and "compulsory in" may be a regional thing. Also, it's my sense that "required" is used much more often than "compulsory" in general speech, so "compulsory" does have a more formal sound to it.

- On THE one hand -> is it necessary to use THE here?

I actually opt for the "on one hand" form of this idiom, although you'll encounter "on the one hand" a lot. I think I go for "on one hand" since there generally is no such thing as "the one hand". Also, saying "on one hand" sounds (to me, at least) more logical since you're selecting one choice out of a set of indefinite choices. Now, if we were to say "on the first hand", that would make sense grammatically. But we're in idiom-land, so logic doesn't always count.

- , the ability v.s. an ability -> I think "the ability" sounds better...

I think "the ability" is better here, too. There may be many types of abilities that allow a teacher to connect with students, but as you're comparing two abilities already specified the use of the definite article maintains the connection that you're specifically talking about one of them.

- they are undestanding v.s. they understand -> probably the second is simpler and better.

The simple present brings a sense of completeness to the desired outcome (that the students gain a good understanding of the material) while the present progressive can give the impression that the achievement of understanding is still in process, that it is incomplete. However, either is fine unless you're trying to leverage some nuance that only one of the tenses gives. Also, since you're using present progressive in "what is being taught", using it beforehand in "they are understanding" matches up with the sense of process "what is being taught" can convey.

- doesn't have or lacks -> I understand both are ok. lacks may be more stylish. "has not a good knowledge" es definitely wrong.

Yep, "lacks" is more formal.

- knowledge OF (ok) and "little he can do" instead of "few"... Lol, few is accountable, and little is not.

"Not much" is another style choice, too. It is less formal than "little".

- their specific difficulties v.s students particular dificulties -> maybe the first one is also ok? Again I have to remember to use PARTICULAR instead or especific or specific!!!! -

Either is fine. "Specific" and "particular" are completely synonymous in this instance.

- "along the learning process" better than "in their learning process" -> but maybe both are ok.

Both are fine. Again, if you're trying to bring out nuances in how you want the context and activity of helping to be perceived, then the choice would matter.

- "When the students are grown-ups who know what they want to learn and do not need anyone to motivate them, then the teacher's social abilities become secondary. " I really like how you constructed this sentence.

I'd opt for "adults" instead of "grown-ups". I think it matches the register of the context better.

- it depends on the context that we are referring to -> this probably sounds weird.

It doesn't sound weird to my American English ear. If the phrase had been written as "it depends on the context to which we are referring", it would also be ok but it would sound affected.

- The more ...., the better -> ok, use comparative better than superlative.

The use of the comparative is mandatory here.

[jrivera]

wow!! Thank you very much Cloudgazer!