Teachers: Strict vs. Caring

[As a teacher,] is it better to be strict or caring? Which are you?

Ideally a teacher should be both strict and caring: A teacher should want to hold students to high standards of behavior and achievement as a direct result of the teacher's care and concern for the well-being of his or her students. A teacher should strictly demand students behave and achieve to the best of their ability, and a teacher should mercifully know when to make occasional exceptions due to extenuating circumstances.

I feel that I am a compassionate person--I enjoy listening to people's problems, comforting them, and helping them find solutions. When I have served as a teacher, I cared for my students and wanted what's best for them, and it is precisely for this reason that I would want to be strict (though merciful in appropriate measure), because students will learn best and have the greatest chance of success in a smoothly running environment where they are pushed to strive for their best.