What does that mean, virtuous teacher?
It means that you are a teacher not only within a classroom but you are a teacher 24/7.
How to be a virtuous teacher?
You must be a good role model for your students. Your heart must truly be for the love of teaching. You need to be a walking representation of how to be a good person for your students to see, even if they can’t see you.
As a teacher you are not just someone who has a job to simply pass on the knowledge of a subject but to also teach and guide students toward a righteous path.
What do I mean by righteous path?
I mean that as teachers we should teach students morals and incorporate morals into each lesson. It can be as simple as pointing out the effect of cheating and how that could lead them to become a dishonest adult in the future. Students need to learn and understand simple basic morals and know how important it is to be a good citizen among friends and later among society.
I believe that following the principles of the 5 precepts in Buddhism can be simple guideline to be a better person and a righteous teacher. Let me explain what the 5 precepts are so you are not skeptical to whether I am trying to convert you into becoming a Buddhist or not; which by the way I am not here to convert anyone.
The five precepts or 5 moral principles in Buddhism are:
No killing or harming any living things (humans, animals)
No stealing or cheating from others
Do not commit adultery (stealing someone’s lover or cheating on your partner)
Do not lie or use profanity or insult others
No drinking and smoking because you can lose focus when under the influence
As you can see these simple guidelines are basically what we should not be doing anyways despite your religion because it is either harming others or harming yourself. If anyone can follow these 5 principles then I am sure your mind will definitely be clearer and your morality and humanity will be for the goodness of yourself and others. Once we can lead our mind and life on a righteous path then we can beam our light for our students and they too can see us as an inspiration for them to make good choices and hopefully to make a difference in the future.