Can the machine ever replace the teacher?

Machine VS Teacher

The machine can surely replace the teacher if 2 conditions are satisfied. The first condition is that the purpose of an education is only to learn the things that are in the syllabus. The second condition would be that success in life is measured by how well you do in your studies. OK they kind of overlap but ah never mind.

And since these two conditions cannot be satisfied the machine can never replace the teacher.

The first condition cannot be satisfied simply because education is not about learning the things that are in the syllabus. In fact, to be honest, I had forgotten almost all of the things that we were forced to learn for PSLE. And just to add on to that point, much of the stuff that I learn't, remembered, and felt that it was important was not the things I learn't by sitting in class and doing homework. Dr Hon also talked to us once about the Future School program. There was one line that I still remember today. It was something along the lines of "Much of the things that I learn't during my school years are already outdated. If education was only about the academic grades, then we could just use the traditional chalk and talk. But it is not. It is the skill of creating new knowledge that allows you to survive in the society today. Thats why we put you in future school." Yup thats the best I could remember. Most of us are not going to use much of the knowledge passed down to us by our teachers when we join the workforce. If so, why is there a need for education? I would think the main reason is to form the basis of what we are going to learn and create later on in life. A sound education should also inculcate values in us that guide us through our lives, like perseverance, and not procrastinating, just to name a few.

And that is where a machine just cannot compare to a human teacher. It is almost impossible for a machine to make a student open up his mind to learn if the student does not want to. A machine can just stand in front of a student and spout all the facts in the world, but the student can just choose to not listen. This is where a good teacher comes in. A good teacher is also like a counselor, and its his job to teach his students knowledge that crosses the boundaries of the textbook.

Yup that is why a machine can never replace a teacher.