Language arts involve novels, poetry, songs and other forms of arts that are language based. The importance of teaching language arts to high school students could not be understated. Through language arts, students learn to express themselves effectively, search for their true identity and acquire socialization skills (Wikipedia, 2007).
An effective language arts curriculum must be able to tackle changing needs of a highly technological society. Language enables the students to acquire skills required as they take on their respective roles in society later.
Teaching Language Arts to high school students is one way to develop well-rounded personality in students. A teacher in order to be effective should teach students skills beyond reading, writing, listening and speaking. Language arts teacher should students in such a way as to give these subject value and relevance which could help them become productive members of the society later on. It is not enough for a language arts teacher to pass on information, he/she should help students use the information learned to be able to communicate effectively. That's the basic role of a language arts teacher in a nutshell.
Basically, we all aim to please others. Teachers' basic desire to provide quality education stems from that goal. Since young people spend more time in school than at home, naturally, expectations from teachers also rise (Murphy, Delli, Edwards, 2004).
According to Murphy, et al (2004), teacher's beliefs and knowledge are the ways in which an educator impart knowledge in the classroom . “The most common distinction between belief and knowledge is that beliefs are based on judgment and evolution, whereas knowledge pertains to objective, verifiable fact.”
Mageehon (2006) conducted a study to determine what makes a “good” teacher good. The study revealed that “the idealized notion of who a good teacher is and the practical notion of what it takes for a…[teacher] to succeed in attaining this… goal may be in conflict”.
It can be gleaned that a good teacher simply acts out an instinct to please others and then go beyond that basic need by doing what she/he can to bring out the best in others.
