What Are The Hidden Roles Of A Teacher?

“In today’s society, a teacher is not just a teacher. They’re a little bit of everything combined into one.”

~Bernard Thompson

Nothing has ever explained the full spectrum of a teacher’s job better than this quote above. When you think of what a teacher’s role and responsibilities are, you’ll naturally think that their absolute and only role is to teach. 

But if not just teaching, what are the hidden roles of a teacher that they willingly fulfill in and outside of the classroom?

Aside from the biggest role and responsibility of a teacher to educate, they also play a multifaceted role in performing additional tasks such as administrative work, compliance work, training, extracurricular activities, professional learning, and so on and so forth—the list just goes on.

And whether these additional roles and responsibilities are assumed by teachers officially or unofficially, they wear these many shoes to ultimately contribute to the success of their students and school as well. 

That said, here are the top 10 hidden roles of a teacher.

What are the hidden roles of a teacher? 

1.) Learner

A teacher is expected to teach. But every day in the classroom is a learning process where teachers also assume the role of a learner. 

There is always a chance to learn something new, whether it is to improve students’ success, contribute to the school’s improvement, or learn something personally that will help an individual grow. 

Learning never ends, and teachers know that too well. Teachers face different types of challenges on a daily basis wherein they’ll gain something that will help them nurture their minds on how to play their role as an educator even better than yesterday. 

And as an educational leader, you as a teacher must continue to grow and develop as a professional to make yourself an even more effective teacher as years go by in your career. 

2.) Manager

Classroom management can be tricky, but it is one of the many roles a teacher needs to embody. 

Teachers are expected to keep their classroom a welcoming place that’s functioning and succeeding at the same time. It is their role and responsibility to effectively manage their class from start to finish on a daily basis.

Being the manager of the classroom, teachers are to carry out systematic activities that will help develop and improve the different learning aspects that students partake in.

From making sure that behavioral expectations are being met and that classroom norms are being followed, teachers are always resourceful and creative to make sure that everything is going smoothly in the classroom. 

3.) Mentor/Role Model

A teacher knows very well that they also stand as a mentor/role model to their aspiring students, every day their students are looking up to them and value their teaching and practices.

Especially to young learners who are known to mimic or mirror the behavior of those they look up to, and for sure teachers are one of those people. 

Teachers also have a considerably powerful influence on their students in regards to their overall character development behaviorally and academically. 

They absorb what a teacher says and do, that’s why it’s critical for teachers to be an exemplar who is approachable, sympathetic, and kind above all else. Because evidently, students will be reaching out to their teacher whenever they will experience any bouts of trouble with their personal, academic, or social issues they encounter. 

This goes to show that building a good student-teacher relationship really goes a long way as a part of a life-long experience that students will remember even after they’re all grown up as a part of society. 

And teachers are mentors or role models not just to students as experienced and seasoned teachers can also stand as one for new teachers who are just starting out their journey. 

4.) Learning resource provider

Another one of the many challenging roles and responsibilities of teachers is to provide learning resources for their students to further enrich their learning experience in and outside of the classroom. 

It is a teacher’s duty to scour for developmental resources which might include educational websites, instructional materials, collaboration objects, and all other kinds of teaching aids that can help widen the learning context of students pertaining to the topic at hand.

One of the many talents of a teacher is content creating as well, a large part of providing resources. From researching and developing new materials that are sometimes may by hand and even spending from their own pocket just to deliver the quality education that they want their students to receive. 

And this is no doubt an outstanding effort on a teacher’s part when they are already responsible for a lot of time-consuming tasks such as teaching, grading students, and so much more. 

You’ll really wonder how teachers can do it all in so little time that they have. 

5.) Mediator

School days are not always going to be sunshine and rainbow, there will be times that some conflict between students may arise at any given moment sporadically. 

And it’s up to teachers to act as a mediator and to make sure that any disputes between the students do not escalate any further. It is up to the teachers to make sure to see the situation from an unprejudiced perspective and to arrive at a solution that will benefit all parties involved in all fairness. 

6.) Facilitator

One of the main roles of a teacher is to facilitate learning as it is happening in the classroom. Teachers often give chance to students to discuss what they learn with one another in a form of an exchange under their close supervision and monitoring

As a facilitator of the classroom, it is a teacher’s task to support each and every student depending on their learning capacity, their strength, and weakness as well, guiding them and assisting them in picking apart ideas and forming their own thoughts about the topic through self-exploration and dialogue between themselves. 

And as students learn from one another, they can then focus more on the key takeaways of the topic that is being taught by the teacher, this gives them a chance to realize what is most relevant by sharing their thoughts and two cents regarding the topic. 

7.) Data Analyst

In the ever-changing role of a teacher, data analysis is now being catered by educators as well, and this is because of the increasing pressure on teachers to provide evidence that they are capable to provide and meet the of their students.

Data analysis is also done by teachers to ensure that the learning process is constantly improving. They have to assess and analyze the set of information and collaborate with the faculty to ultimately make data-driven decisions to strengthen the educational force that they are implementing. 

In return, teachers can gather questions and answers from their collected data to identify which students need a particular type of instruction and or intervention at any given moment. 

8.) Orator and Listener

As we all know teaching involves a lot more than just teaching and giving instruction in front of students, and one of them is being an effective orator and listener. 

Having an effective means of communication in the classroom equates to the success of both the students and the teacher. A teacher should be skilled to speak eloquently and should also be most approachable in a sense where students can comfortably speak their own minds and ideas in class.

It should always be a “give and take” process in the classroom, in fact, teachers can also learn a lot from their students as long as they are open-minded and open to feedback.

9.) Collaborator

If you’re a teacher, you know that you need to be a team player. Outside of the classroom teachers are always collaborating with their co-workers to form strong relationships including the teaching and non-teaching staff in school. 

With teachers being collaborators, they can work on learning programs with the school faculty and even with the community to better the learning environment and experience of the students. Teachers are also responsible for collaborating with parents in cases where further intervention at home is needed. 

Working with the government is also one of their roles to form learning policies that will enrich the learning experience for students in and outside of the school. And of course, teachers also have first-hand experience in collaborating with various schools and teachers to form school curriculums that further down the road will shape the education of learners. 

10.) An agent of change

All this and that, weighing their workload and their challenging roles as a teacher and comparing it to their compensation comes down to realizing the fact that teaching is indeed the noblest profession in the world. 

It comes with so much responsibility and duty towards students and society. Teaching is not just imparting knowledge to students but also inspiring and motivating them and ultimately shaping their characters as they take important steps in life. 

And all of this boils down to teachers making a difference not just in the classroom but in the life of their students. 

In Essence, 

“It’s the teacher that makes the difference, not the classroom”

~Michael Morpurgo

These are just some of the core roles that teachers play on a daily basis. And if you are to paint a day in their life it will surely be chaotic yet colorful and highly rewarding. 

If you know a super teacher share this with them and help them realize that they are the modern heroes of today’s society!

Until our next one, happy teaching!