Do you agree or disagree with the following statement: Teachers had a greater influence on young people in the past than they do today.
 
The educational system has changed drastically in the last few decades. One result of those changes is that : teachers had a greater influence on young people in the past than they do today. In part, this trend can be attributed to the change in the learning environment, and to the prevalence of high-paying jobs that do not require an education.
 
First, contemporary classroom curricula have expanded hugely since the mid twentieth century, which allows a student’s individual talents and skills to emerge freely. Students and teachers have much more interaction using applied technologies that help students grow intellectually. The rapport between teachers and students may lead many students to place themselves at an equal rather than subordinate position with their teachers. Students in this kind of learning environment tend to view respect as unnecessary.  By contrast, in classical education in the past, classroom teaching was rigid, unimaginative and often indoctrinatory, which demanded students to act with respect toward teachers, even if the teachers were unpleasant or not good at their jobs.
Second, many high-paying jobs in the present day do not require an education. Entry-level positions in the natural gas industry, for example, do not call for advanced degrees because most of the work is manual labor.  Thus, students are convinced that they will not need any of the skills that educators teach. The material is rendered useless and so is each student’s respect for the one who imparts it (the teacher).
Unfortunately, teachers are not respected as much as they once were. It does not benefit anyone when teachers are stripped of their authority and respect.  They may become powerless to penalize disobedient students, less effective when imparting knowledge, and the appeal of high-paying manual labor positions undermines the role that education is meant to play in students’ lives.