As seen in Australia, January 2012
Essay question answered by Jeenn Lee Hseh （謝振禮）
ielts360toefl@hotmail.com

Some people believe that students work better if the teacher is strict; others think it is better for students if the teacher has a friendly approach. Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge and experience.

Good teaching could be something like a mission impossible if an educator fails to perform a balancing act between being kind and being rough. Nowadays society is much more open-minded, and it is easy for a teacher to forget putting a great value on school disciplines. For students to work better, however, it is advisable that the teacher should be strict rather than friendly.

There are those in favor of a strict teacher, with traditional reasons. According to their opinions, children should fear their teachers, this being the only way in which they would study and behave themselves. To begin with, it is thought that a pupil, if not properly pushed to work in the classroom, is likely to get a low grade. Then, only a strict educator can better help students distinguish what is right from what is wrong in a moral sense. In the past, the harsh and unfeeling way of educating a child was based on ruthless grounding and stern rules, which used to create accomplished individuals like old-fashioned gentlemen and ladies. There is nothing wrong about the teacher being a disciplinarian, always keeping students on their toes and calling attention to mistakes or carelessness on the part of the immature minds. Of course, this does not mean the poker-faced teacher would never smile until Christmas.

On the other hand, those who believe in the wisdom of modern psychology hold views to the contrary. They blame some teachers for being so strict that they tend to terrify their students to the point of tyranny. One argument is that a friendly teacher is a better teacher for being a combination of the guidance of an educator and the understanding of a friend, thus giving a healthy boost to a child's personality development. Accordingly, under no circumstances should the teacher should criticize or punish a student. It is argued that an otherwise introvert student reacts positively in the companionship of a friendly teacher who is more close to the students and proves to be a better educator. Apart from that, it is understandable that today's parents prefer to see "loving" teachers for their offspring, and such an attitude can be explained by the way they obey their children at home.

The teacher having a more strict approach is more effective than one who is trying to be friendly all the time since schooling is meant to influence students positively for the rest of their lives. Therefore, the traditional value of working seriously on academic activities and of instilling moral principles to children cannot be overemphasized. The good news is that being the strict teacher and being the friendly teacher are not mutually exclusive.