Toefl iBT Essay-8

Do you agree or disagree with the following statement?
It is more important for a teacher to help students gain self-confidence than to teach them specific knowledge.

It is widely known among educators that students tend to perform better when they are expected to do so by their teachers, a phenomenon that is called the Pygmalion effect. Although teaching specific knowledge is important, I think it is much more important for teachers to build up students` self-confidence.

First, students must feel good about themselves to maximize their potential , and self-confidence is the key to feeling good about oneself. In fact, teachers can help students increase their self-confidence by encouraging them. For example, my physics instructor, who is one of my favorite teachers, constantly encourages students to try their best. Since physics is a really hard subject, many students are poor at it. But he does not criticize them when they answer incorrectly. Rather, he always encourages them to try again. Thanks to his attitude, many students have built up their confidence enough to answer even the most difficult questions. He is clearly doing his job well.

Students without self-confidence are very likely to quit trying to learn. They will probably never do anything positive with their lives. Instead of ignoring these students, teachers should get them to speak more or to contribute to class. This will show the students that they really can succeed and do well. For instance, one student in my class in middle school was always afraid to answer questions and never did his homework. He even told me he wanted to drop out. Mrs. Kim, my homeroom teacher, started asking him easy questions. He answered them correctly, and this encouraged him. Mrs.Kim built up his self-confidence so much that he stayed in school and started working harder.

I greatly prefer for teachers to help students with their self-confidence than to provide actual knowledge. More self-confidence will let students reach their potential. It will also help them keep learning. With unshakable self-confidence, a person can feel the ability to do anything.