Teachers Are Called to be Mentors, Not Tormentors
1 Peter 5:3 discourages the idea that pastors and teachers should be tormentors. It says that authorities must not be lording over the flock but to be ensamples or an example towards their students. God's purpose in giving the Law is not only to show us our sin but to also protect us. Authority like freedom can be misused and abused by anyone. If you've got people who hate to follow rules then you have people who act like they've got absolute authority - never mind that said authority was only entrusted by God and not their own.
Teachers of any kind are called to be role models. Respect is something you must give regardless of who's above and who's below. Do you want your students to respect you? Becoming a terrible tyrant or dictator is not the way just as overly lenient leadership isn't the way either. We must remember the one truth in Ephesians 5:21 which says, "Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God." The Bible says that wives submit to their husbands while husbands must love their wives. You can't expect a wife to submit if the husband is abusive. You can't expect students to respect their teacher if he or she has such a bad example. 1 Timothy 3:1-7 also lists that a pastor must not be a brawler. Teachers too shouldn't be brawlers too. How can a teacher teach students to behave in class when he or she can't even control his or her temper?
Jesus gave us the best role model of how Christians should be as teachers. He walked the talk and did more doing than speaking. Love without action is meaningless. Jesus showed His love when He obeyed the full will of the Father. He allowed Himself to be victimized by wicked men because He knew what He had to do to pay for the full penalty of sin. He gave gentle rebukes to sinners even when he openly attacked the Pharisees for their hypocrisy. Yet, He offered compassion which led to sinners realizing that they're in need of forgiveness and a new life. He dined with sinners not to sin with them but to lead sinners to repentance. He did all He could in full obedience to the Father, taught people to love those who hate them and showed it. He was hard on sin but He did out of love for the sinner.
Teachers of any kind are called to be role models. Respect is something you must give regardless of who's above and who's below. Do you want your students to respect you? Becoming a terrible tyrant or dictator is not the way just as overly lenient leadership isn't the way either. We must remember the one truth in Ephesians 5:21 which says, "Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God." The Bible says that wives submit to their husbands while husbands must love their wives. You can't expect a wife to submit if the husband is abusive. You can't expect students to respect their teacher if he or she has such a bad example. 1 Timothy 3:1-7 also lists that a pastor must not be a brawler. Teachers too shouldn't be brawlers too. How can a teacher teach students to behave in class when he or she can't even control his or her temper?
Jesus gave us the best role model of how Christians should be as teachers. He walked the talk and did more doing than speaking. Love without action is meaningless. Jesus showed His love when He obeyed the full will of the Father. He allowed Himself to be victimized by wicked men because He knew what He had to do to pay for the full penalty of sin. He gave gentle rebukes to sinners even when he openly attacked the Pharisees for their hypocrisy. Yet, He offered compassion which led to sinners realizing that they're in need of forgiveness and a new life. He dined with sinners not to sin with them but to lead sinners to repentance. He did all He could in full obedience to the Father, taught people to love those who hate them and showed it. He was hard on sin but He did out of love for the sinner.
It should be the responsibility of schools to remove teachers who are terrors from their profession. If a secular school can remove such teachers then shame on Christian schools if they don't. Teachers who are terror will not help the learning process. Learning like submission is a two-way street. Teachers teach students and in turn - they end up learning from their students too. Teachers and students both need to have a mutual submission to each other. How can terror teachers destroy the learning curve? People who are too scared won't even bother to receive correction. Some people who hate to be corrected later in life may have been victims of terror authorities themselves. Worse, teachers who are terrors hate to be corrected themselves because they tend to think that they're always right even when they're wrong. A teacher who can't accept he or she is wrong has no authority to correct a student's mistake. It's because correcting somebody is not a one-sided task - it involves both authorities, colleagues, and subordinates correcting each other out of concern for one another.