Can Lifeless Technology Replace Human Teachers?

(FYI, this story was an old work of mine. I had submitted it to the Rotary Club of my city for a competition during the Coronavirus pandemic period. And won second place. Just felt like sharing it with the Vocal™ community.)

Teachers are an integral part of any stable and efficient society. Be it the 10th century AD or the year 2021, teachers are widely respected all around the world. As fast as the world gets more and more advanced, almost everything is made possible due to the energising presence of masterminds and their inventions : Technology.

As the world’s movement towards improvement is slowly grinding to a standstill due to the fear-inducing Coronavirus pandemic and the lockdowns imposed, schools are closed and the daily grind of the students to gain good grades in their subjects comes to a halt.

However, the learning of students continue with online classes, another help of technology to the society as a whole. But the main question of today is that the technology which helps us immensely: Can it replace the age-old tradition of teachers?

Since time immemorial, gurus taught students in their ashrams, or Gurukulas. The method of teaching and learning were oral; the students never wrote down anything. With the passage of time, in order to preserve the teachings and findings of the gurus, they were put down in written form. And it has evolved into the current situation where the teachers write down the teachings for the students. But to answer the aforementioned question; my answer would be clearly,

NO.

Teachers can never be removed from a society, even if the whole world is digitalised. We may not get an answer to an extremely convoluted and difficult question from Google Search; but we’ll always find the answer from the teacher, who might have already encountered the question in his time as a student, or from previous doubts asked to him by his students.

Experience. Experience is one thing that emotionless and lifeless gadgets don’t have, when compared with teachers. Teachers are respected next to one’s parents, and God Himself.

Let me give you some more evidence on this technology-replacing-teachers discussion, so that my standpoint is strengthened in your view.

So, we talk of computers as our future teachers. Or at least some say so.

But who teaches us to use those gadgets? Of course it’s the teachers themselves! Internet and the technology that comes with it is a big blessing. But also has an intricate mechanism, which has to be learnt in order to use it. The learning part, however, comes from our teachers!

Technology is a mere augmentation of teaching. It can be used as a tool to help us in learning, but technology CAN never act as a true teacher.

The best and thoughtful teachers use the technology available as an expanding toolkit to make the children’s learning easier and more joyful. Another important factor is quick thinking. There may be a problem at every turn in the school - the smart board freezes, or a guest speaker cancels his speech, buses are delayed and the list goes on and on.

Humans are equipped with on-the-spot thinking skills that allow them to formulate plans to solve the problem at hand, immediately. Computers and other gadgets don’t have that ability. That’s another reason why technology can NEVER replace a teacher.

It is significant that we remember, a teacher is more than just a facilitator of knowledge. A teacher also acts as a guide, a mentor and an inspiration for students, a role that cannot be replaced by technology of any kind. Taking critical skills into account like decision making, time management etc, a child needs a teacher as technology cannot teach these human skills.

It is much obvious that technology is assisting students in their learning and it is playing a crucial role in the field of education. But, as of now, it does not have the power to replace teachers because human interaction cannot be replaced by computers and human skills cannot be taught by technology.

At school, we grow up along with the enlightening presence of teachers. We grow to know them, and they us. Teachers can identify the particular subject in which we struggle at AND the ones that they anticipate we will struggle. After this, they come up with carefully tailored questions and teaching methods for each and every student. This allows the growth of each and every student as an individual capable of independent learning, rather than wholly depending on technology and AI to answer all of his/her questions. This makes him nothing more than a brain-dead guy with life left in him.

I would like to end my standpoint with this quote from me. ‘Technology CAN NOT replace teachers." Technology is, and always will be a tool, an expanding toolkit for a teacher to improve his teaching skills. Human skills can be taught to students by teachers; humans.