“Education, as its etymology implies, is not about filling mental drawers with data, but leading the young toward self-governance” (The Author)
A teacher is a human being with all the idiosyncrasies that accompany any of us; he or she will feel emotions toward the students, whether positive or negative. We try to avoid being judgmental, but sometimes the kid is so obnoxious and confrontational that we simply cannot find any way to like him or her. Whether our feelings actually play a role in assigning grades is a matter of discussion among education experts. Conversely, the student is so charming (and often manipulative) that we feel ‘forced’ to like him or her. Is this bad? Are we hurting the youngsters when they notice that we like or dislike them? Probably not, but a good teacher will bend over backwards to avoid assigning good or bad grades or treating them differently simply because of subjective circumstances.
jcsprenger
