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To teach another person is an example of the most fundamental evolutionary advantage of humankind. Our communicative capabilities in combination with our intelligence are the defining features of the human creature. This makes the roles of a teacher in the classroom something ancient and deeply important but also something universal. We're predisposed to understanding instinctively the position of teacher. The roles of Manager, Organizer, and Facilitator are the most well-known and generally understood. The less thought of or generally understood are those of Assessor, Prompter, Model, and Observer. All of these roles connect to each other and feed into the very high level role of Conduit. A teacher transfers knowledge from a variety of sources written and verbal, a chain of knowledge that stretches over generations, connecting the past to the present in a fundamental way. By sharing knowledge a teacher expands the thinking of their students and open minds are fertile ground for creativity, reason, and problem-solving. As a Manager a teacher is usually at the front and center presenting knowledge, highlighting the important aspects, and in the best cases inspiring their students to learn. A supportive role to Manager is that of Organizer; organizing students for various activities by giving instructions and providing examples working hand in hand with Manager. Facilitating is a constant role as all are but often follows on Organizer being available during activities for questions and concerns. These three are often the classic image of a teacher and the most readily thought of roles that teachers perform. The less well-known or considered include Assessing; being able to accurately gauge students understanding of lessons and their level of skill is incredibly important to properly building lesson plans and adapting course materials for the class. As part of being inspirational to the students a teacher must be both a Model of the language being taught but also a Prompter for students who are almost there with a piece of grammar, vocabulary, or a sentence. Sometimes a student merely needs a hint, something as a slight as a gesture could be the prompt that leads to a moment of realization in the lesson for that student. An important aspect of classroom are the dynamics of student to student and student to teacher interaction; as an Observer the teacher is watching how well students are taking to an activity and how well they are working together or not as the activity requires. Assessing and Observing are inter-related; the former being more towards after lesson(s) and the latter being more in the moment of activities and lessons. All of these rolls contribute towards teaching successfully; being a conduit of knowledge that opens up a students mind. Language is the framework of ideas and communicating those ideas; learning more of a language and learning additional languages expand that framework creating an opportunity creativity, reason, and increased problem solving. Teaching language is one of the most ancient and important goals of education and every role is important and contributory to the success of the student.
