The Teacher's Image and Status: A Comparative View Between Past and Present

According to the research literature, the teacher is perceived as a cultural agent of society, an agent of knowledge and values. Jewish society also charged teachers with the obligation for the growth and success of their students, as part of an ethical-religious, national, and supra-generational endeavor. Studies in Israel and around the world show that the status of teachers as perceived by the general public in Israel is extremely low and that their image is at a low. During the Covid-19 crisis, several processes occurred that might have affected the status of various professions and occupations, including teaching. This study seeks to examine the portrayal of teachers with regard to their personal, ethical, and pedagogic profile, in comparison to other cultures and faiths: in rabbinical literature, ancient Greece, Christianity, and Islam. The study examines the status of the optimal teacher in comparison to contemporary reality, showing that in modern society teachers are losing their status—in a process leading from the lofty to the common. The research findings indicate that in rabbinical literature, as in other faiths and cultures, teachers are perceived as ideal role models, as far as their theoretical professionalism, moral virtues, and life style. This is a profession with lofty, particular, universal, and historical meaning. The study indicates that in the past teachers were perceived by society as lofty, knowledgeable, and role models, but over the years this image was gradually eroded until the profession was transformed into a common one, with a fairly low ranking on the hierarchy of professions. The low wages contributed to this image, leading to a reality where those acquiring a career in teaching are of the second and third ranks as far as their personality and intellect. The research findings stress the transformation of the teaching profession from the lofty status to the low status. In light of the demands set by this profession in the present complex, technological, and global world, the status of the teacher as perceived by teachers and by society may rise yet again, deservedly, to become one of the socially prestigious and exalted professions.