Teaching is the most important role in society

Unfortunately, I must not have made my point with clarity. I am not saying that teachers are important because world leaders say they are. I am saying that teachers have the widest sphere of influence over society and therefore the most important. Important means "of considerable influence or authority, as a person or position" (http://dictionary.reference.com...) As for the doctors and nurses saving the teacher, this is a slippery slope argument. Just because a doctor saved a teacher who taught an important student who influenced society does not mean that doctor directly influenced the student. The student may not even know he existed. This argument is unfortunately invalid. Interestingly, though even if the argument was valid, it would still not work in Con's favor. In order to be a doctor you need to go to medical school. Medical schools generally have teachers to teach the students. So the only way the doctor and nurse could save a teacher is if a teacher first taught them how. Con claims the resolution is impossible to uphold. He says, "Teaching is not a role in society, it is a duty played by the role of a 'teacher'." My question to him is, what is a role in society? Is it not a part, a function, that aids the entire machine? Merriam Webster defines "role" as "proper or customary function: the teacher's role in society." (http://dictionary.reference.com...) But in addition, what does the above sentence mean? I request further clarification to uphold this point. By using Henry Adams as a source does not indicate Historians play a role more important in society than teachers. It means that this particular historian was making an observation about teachers. The quote about teachers affecting eternity was actually in his book; "The Education of Henry Adams." (Bartlett's Familiar Quotations; copyright 2002) Henry may have even been talking about his own teachers in the context of this book. If I make an observation about politics does not mean that I consider my job more important than politics. I am simply making an observation. The same principle applies here. Mr. Adam's occupation has no bearing on this quote whatsoever. I do not see why the quotes by Henry Adams discredit the quote I cited. "Friends are born, not made," is true in the sense that the characteristics of a good friend cannot be falsely generated. It must be part of the person himself. Con is also taking the word "make" in the wrong sense. Mr. Adams is not talking about "making a friend" as we usually refer to it, but in the sense of making or creating a good friend. But this quote actually has nothing to do with the subject at hand. The second quote: "Nothing in education is so astonishing as the amount of ignorance it accumulates in the form of inert facts." This has more bearing on the subject, but it is not entirely on topic either. This does not indicate either support or discredit of teachers. If it has anything to do with teachers at all, it is only discrediting bad teachers, not all teachers. The first quote about eternal influence might be referring to good teachers. These quotes are not in conflict. Also, these quotes are too few and too vague to "prove" any intent. We do not know the context of either quote to know the author's intent. If a person found a human tooth and nothing else, he or she does not have enough information to draw what the person looked like. Con unfortunately has taken two quotes out of context and not even in conjunction with my quote, and tried to prove intent. We need a lot more evidence before we can say that anything has been actually proven. Unfortunately Con also misunderstood my C.S. Lewis point. I was not justifying a teacher's role, I was demonstrating it with examples of how they have affected the world with their teaching; good and bad. You will also notice I talked about Mr. Kirkpatrick in addition to the bad teacher. As to Helen Keller, the same concept is present. I do not know how much Con has studied Helen Keller, but if you read her biographies you will learn that the doctors and psychologists gave up on helping her, but Annie Sullivan did not. Alexander Graham Bell wanted to help the little girl, but he could not. (The Story of Helen Keller by Lorena A. Hickok. Copyright 1960) But Annie never gave up. She did what she had to do to unlock Helen's "closet." Helen would have never been able to do what she did if Annie had not spelled W-A-T-E-R into her hand. I find it interesting that my opponent did not respond to the example of Socrates who taught Plato who taught Aristotle. Therefore I can only assume that he agrees with me that Plato highly influenced western thought and society (http://www.ancientgreece.com...) and would not have been able to do so if Socrates had not first given him the tools. I am glad I am so amusing to Con, a little humor is always helpful. But I again must not have been clear with my point about Adolf Hitler and the Soviets. Hitler was a terrible person, but he was not stupid. I used him to say that teachers are so important that men bent on world power have stooped to ensure that the only teachers are those in support of them. Hitler wanted to control society, and one of the ways he tried to do that was control the schools. True, the Soviets collapsed, but the cause was rebellions according to Con's own source, not schools. (https://en.wikipedia.org...) I am not condoning Hitler's actions at all. He did unspeakable grievances against God and man. He was using all of his strategic knowledge to try to take over Europe and then the world. As a strategist, he did very well and deceived thousands at least. And, as a strategist, he made an apt observation: our children are the key to the future. Therefore, he perverted the process to his own gain. Teachers give tools to the students to shape society. The politicians Con mentioned would not have the capability to write speeches if they did not know how to write. They could not speak well and smoothly without first learning how to talk. One of these days, the generation currently in charge of our world will begin to fade away. Then, a new generation, their children, will step up to the plate to lead our culture forward. These children will be different from their parents. They will have different beliefs and customs. They have all been shaped by their parents and teachers so that they can in turn shape the world. Most students (and most people in fact) have no idea how much their teachers have done for them. Teachers have a profound effect on society. I know mine have had a great effect on me. If you think about it, everyone has been taught by someone else, and even the self-taught had to be taught how to learn. We owe our teachers. They may not have armies or noticeable power, but they are the most powerful men and women on the planet, for they hold the future in their hands. How well or poorly they teach will either make a great student, or break him or her. They will never know how far their influence may reach, but like Socrates, their influence may last thousands of years. That is why teaching is the most important role in society.