Should a teacher be strict or friendly with students?

Don William Sese

Don William Sese

Legacy Member
As a teacher, we should have a professional relationship with students, and this may have similar qualities, and characteristics as friends, but it is different. The relationship between the two is unbalanced. Both should be on equal grounds as in deserving and receiving respect. Both are equal as human beings with that spark of divinity, and both are growing toward who they will become, but teachers have the charge to develop the student academically and socially.

We teachers must be able to direct the student, and correct the student. The teacher must be able to even give consequences as well as affirmation that will move the student toward being competent and adaptive in terms of their instructional roles. Let's explore the requirements of the relationship a good teacher should have with a student, and why relationship is the foundation of teaching, but different from being friends.

It is it the foundation of an effective classroom, and an effective teacher. It is the foundation of any society that wants to develop happy, healthy contributing members who grow up pushing the edge of their full potential in whatever they do. It is the foundation of how you build people who feel good about themselves and interact and contribute beyond what they know on a subject or competence in any area. It is the foundation of excellence.
 
I believe teachers should find a balance between being friendly and being strict. Being too friendly means they won't take you seriously and will not do things like class work, assignments, etc and might be disruptive in class. Being too strict means the students might be too scared of you to ask questions in class when they do not understand a concept and will be reluctant to approach you with personal problems. Create a balance between being strict and being friendly so that while students see you as being principled, they will also find you approachable.
 
I believe a teacher is born,training for profession only helps to sharpen skills. A gifted teacher doesn't struggle to balance the two,it comes naturally.However, all teachers should strike a healthy balance between strictness and friendliness. It is for this reason that students like certain subjects.A very strict teacher make the enviroemt less conducive for learning.Friendship with learners should also be at a healthy level.However, when teaching children with special needs,it is a bit complicated.
 
Being strict is okay. This is the old way of giving discipline to students. In my generation, i always see children being lectured by strict teacher and i as well is a product of it and i can say, almost all of us have good lives now.if it werent for my strict teachers, me and my batchamates would have never reached where we are now.
 
I think a teacher can establish an attitude both friendly and authoritative. They can be carefree and amiable towards their students but they should be firm about expressing their annoyance when the situation requires it. I still remember a teacher that was very friendly and polite towards my class but one time he got really annoyed when a classmate was disrespectful to him, and I really felt that he took a very firm stance but I didn't feel like that would create a distance between him and the class.
 
For me, I will choose both. a teacher can be strict inside the class so that the children will learn how to focus on their studies and at the same time friendly outside the school.
 
Great teacher form strong relationships with their students and show that they care about them as people. They are also warm and approachable. I am a person working in the academe for 3 years now and I combine being friendly but strict to students at the same time. In my class, I make sure that they would have the "at home" feeling in me so whenever they have questions, they will not be shy to talk to me and speak up their minds. I also crack jokes once in a while but I make it clear to them that when it's joke time, it's joke time and when it's lesson time, we need to focus on our lesson. And that's also the time I become strict to them. As a teacher, I want to see if they learn the lesson or not. Every quiz or test, I don't allow them to talk to one another and be strict when it comes to submission of requirements.

For me, it's best if a teacher can combine being strict and friendly to students because nowadays, students are very sensitive. As a teacher, you need to adjust to them and they should adjust to you and respect you.
 
In my opinion, it should be a balance. A teacher should be friendly and approachable, but also strict to uphold discipline in their classroom. A strict teacher will only induce fear, pressure, and stress in their students. It will also inhibit learning and might result in poor grades. A lax teacher will also yield the same results. That's why I think a mixture of both for a perfect balance is the key.
 
I will choose a friendly teacher than a strict one. I hate strict teachers. I remembered one of the strictest teacher I encountered when I was in elementary throw eraser and chalk to us students when we are so noisy. In high school one of our strict teacher pounded his book on the table because we are noisy.
 
Don William Sese said:
As a teacher, we should have a professional relationship with students, and this may have similar qualities, and characteristics as friends, but it is different. The relationship between the two is unbalanced. Both should be on equal grounds as in deserving and receiving respect. Both are equal as human beings with that spark of divinity, and both are growing toward who they will become, but teachers have the charge to develop the student academically and socially.

We teachers must be able to direct the student, and correct the student. The teacher must be able to even give consequences as well as affirmation that will move the student toward being competent and adaptive in terms of their instructional roles. Let's explore the requirements of the relationship a good teacher should have with a student, and why relationship is the foundation of teaching, but different from being friends.

It is it the foundation of an effective classroom, and an effective teacher. It is the foundation of any society that wants to develop happy, healthy contributing members who grow up pushing the edge of their full potential in whatever they do. It is the foundation of how you build people who feel good about themselves and interact and contribute beyond what they know on a subject or competence in any area. It is the foundation of excellence.
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I believe that teachers are to be friendly to their students. Until now I could still remember the bad things that our strict teachers had done to us. I also could remember teachers who have been good to us. I could even remember the name of our kindergarten teacher who was a very nice teacher. I like going to school when I was in kindergarten because our teacher was always smiling and playful to us. I always got a grade of 100 percent and my grandmother would exchange it for one peso.
 
In my opinion, I believe that all teachers should try their hardest to maintain a friendly relationship with their students. Great teachers care about their students and should want to work to get their respect and understanding. I will never forget certain teachers, not only because they added tremendous value to my life, but because they also treated me with respect and genuine generosity.
 
It's important to be balanced, but I'd much rather prefer to be friendly than strict. A friendly teacher creates a friendly atmosphere that can motivate students to perform better.
 
Balance should be the key. Overly friendly teachers would end up getting disrespected by the students. On the other hand, strict teachers would be feared by the students and it would not be a good idea to rule a classroom with fear. I guess teachers should lay out rules and implement them properly, giving out punishments when they are disobeyed but they should be approachable. It would help a student enjoy lessons and they won't be stressed or pressured to learn.
 
Teachers are playing an important role in how much the students feel motivated, and how much they are engaged in learning.I think a teacher should be severe in some measure, as much as can be expected in this profession, and friendly in the same time.This way the teacher can establish a good relationship with his students, so they can enjoy the classes, and deliver better results in learning as well.
 
Why not both? :D

I mean it's not supposed to be mutually exclusive, right?
A teacher can be both strict when class is in session, and also be friendly when class session is over.
 
I'd say both. I have realized over the years that, if a teacher is too strict on students, it becomes very difficult for some students to approach the teacher with personal problems. And if the teacher is too friendly, some students are caused to see the teacher as an equal and is treated as such. A bit of both, I say, is good to get the job done.
 
You need a balance of both. If you are too friendly or too serious, the students won't take you seriously. Also, if you are too strict, it makes the children feel afraid of you. The children should be able to trust you but should also respect you.
 
Don William Sese said:
As a teacher, we should have a professional relationship with students, and this may have similar qualities, and characteristics as friends, but it is different. The relationship between the two is unbalanced. Both should be on equal grounds as in deserving and receiving respect. Both are equal as human beings with that spark of divinity, and both are growing toward who they will become, but teachers have the charge to develop the student academically and socially.

We teachers must be able to direct the student, and correct the student. The teacher must be able to even give consequences as well as affirmation that will move the student toward being competent and adaptive in terms of their instructional roles. Let's explore the requirements of the relationship a good teacher should have with a student, and why relationship is the foundation of teaching, but different from being friends.

It is it the foundation of an effective classroom, and an effective teacher. It is the foundation of any society that wants to develop happy, healthy contributing members who grow up pushing the edge of their full potential in whatever they do. It is the foundation of how you build people who feel good about themselves and interact and contribute beyond what they know on a subject or competence in any area. It is the foundation of excellence.
Click to expand...
I prefer friendly teachers. I work well with friendly and nice teachers. I don't like very strict teachers. Although I know that strict teachers can also be good because you will really study hard to please her. I am excited to go to school with friendly teachers waiting for me.
 
For me, it's both. The teacher should be strict (in moderation) by their students during the class hours to focus their lessons and being friendly outside the school to build a good relationship with the students. Being strict (in moderation), some students will honor the teacher because they understand the teacher is trying to help them learn.
 
I am inclined to like teachers who are so friendly to all the students. He or she will surely be missed when you graduate in school. You will have happy memories with friendly teachers.
 
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