Teacher and Society: History and Modernity

The teaching profession is one of the oldest. In the paper, we have made a brief review of whether the teaching profession was honorable in society in different periods of human development, whether it was respected in society, what the teacher’s position was and what it is now.It has been found that in the countries of the Ancient East, the authority of the teacher was undeniable for children and adults. The means of existence of the teachers was the salary and gifts for the education of the children from the parents. In India, according to religious traditions, a hierarchy of teachers was formed that performed various teaching and educational functions, and the attitude of society towards them was unequal. In Ancient Greece, in connection with the simplification of the learning process, the authority of the teacher in society decreased. The treatment of teachers of different levels of education is unequal, the salary is low, especially for primary private school teachers. During the Middle Ages, the teachers were mainly representatives of the church.It has been shown that with the development of society, education, and pedagogy, all prominent philosophers and pedagogues highly valued the importance of the teacher in society, emphasized the need for his material support. In the monuments of pedagogical thought of the Ukrainian Renaissance era, the role of the teacher in society is highly valued and requirements for teachers were set forth.The position of the teacher gradually changed in the developed world with the creation of mass schools in the nineteenth century and their inclusion in the state system. The teacher becomes a civil servant. Women are also becoming teachers. However, the position of teachers in society, especially in rural areas, and the attitude towards them was unenviable, as Ukrainian writers have written about.In the twentieth century, the teaching profession became widespread around the world. Nevertheless, even today, attitudes towards teachers vary from country to country. It depends on the peculiarities of the historical development of countries, the level of the educational institution where the teacher works, the gender of the teacher, etc., and it is manifested, in particular, in the social status, working conditions and remuneration. Nowadays, in most countries of the world, a teacher is a civil servant. Traditionally, the teaching profession is more respected in the East, in Muslim countries. In many countries around the world, even in developed ones, primary school teachers receive lower salaries.