It can be said that education has the capacity to provide students with many opportunities later on in life. Teachers play a large role in providing students with the education needed to pursue these opportunities. When a student fails to successfully pursue an opportunity, responsibility of the failure is quickly cast upon the teacher. Educational providers are somewhat responsible for the failure of their students; this is true early on in a student’s educational journey. During kindergarten and elementary school, children are just beginning to discover what the world has to offer and their minds are just beginning to flourish. Children depend on their teachers to help them successfully learn new and important concepts because their minds do not have the capacity to direct their own learning. At these early stages it is the responsibility of the teacher to educate each and every one of their students about the fundamental life skills, such as numeracy, literacy and communication. The provincial government of Ontario has implemented standardized testing for all grade three and six students to ensure that students were learning understanding fundamental literacy and numeracy concepts. It is the responsibility of the teacher to make sure that he or she not only teaches the content of the exam but that each student fully understands and is comfortable with these concepts. .If a student is struggling with one of these basic concepts it is the responsibility of the educational provider to see that the students needs are addressed. Implementing new teaching strategies, providing extra help, having meetings with parents, are all options the teacher should use to make sure that his or her students are succeeding in the classroom. The responsibility of a student’s failure in the early years of their education should be cast on the teacher because he or she is responsible fore teaching fundamental skills that students are unable to learn without direction from an educational provider.

Although teachers do play a large role in the success of their students, a teacher cannot always take the blame for the failures of their students. By late high school and university students have acquired fundamental literacy, numeracy and communication skills. Success is no longer dependent on how well a teacher teaches their students but how well the student is able to understand the information and apply this information to real life situations. A lot of learning in these later years is self directed; students must now take a larger ownership for their educational success and make sure they are doing what they need to succeed. Teachers and professors provide students with the information they need, but it is up to the student to make sure they understand the information. Doing homework, studying for tests and exams, asking for extra help to clarify misunderstood concepts are all necessary for educational success in these later years. If a teacher notices that a student fails to complete their homework, does not study for tests and fails to seek extra help when they have offered it, the responsibility of failure can no longer be placed on the teacher, but must be placed on the student.

The deciding factor of when a teacher should take responsibility for the failure of his or her students is not trivial. However, after much thought it can be generalized that a teachers responsibility of a students failure is dependent on education level. In the early years of education, kindergarten to elementary school, children depend on the direction of their teachers in order to learn fundamental skills that they will need the rest of their lives. Educational providers should do what ever is possible to ensure that none of their students fall behind. However, in high school and university the responsibility of failure shifts from the teacher to the student. In these later years, educational success is not only dependent on the teacher but on the student. The student must put in the hard work and take responsibility for his or her education. It is up to the student to ask for extra help if they need it because education at this level is largely self-directed. Education is an important aspect of our society and teachers and students need to work together in order for it to be truly successful.

As President Barak Obama once said, "education is the cornerstone of a successful society". This fact has presented true in the ability of nations with strict education guidelines to become economic superpowers in the world. For example, law in Canada,one of the top 8 ecnomically sound nations (as represented by their membership in the G8), states that students must remain in school until their 18th birthday. As a result of this, students often spend more time with their teachers than they do their parents. In effect, teachers become role models for successful citizens in society. It is the responsibility of these teachers to ensure that students learn knowledge required to move to the next grade of school. Teachers must engage their students in learning. Failure of students to move to the next level of education is therefore representative of a partial failure of their teachers to ensure that the student achieve academic success. A prime example of the failure of university professors to engage their students in active learning is the story of Albert Einstein. Considered one of the most brilliant physicists of all time, one would expect that Einstein would be capable of achieving passing grades in his first year undergraduate courses. However, due to lack of motivation and an un-engaging classroom environment, Einstein failed his first year mathematics courses. In this case, Einstein's teachers must assume some responsibility for Einstein's academic failure, since clearly he had the mental capacity to understand the required material and given the right learning environment he may have achieved passing grades in his classes.

Although teachers make large imprints in the lives of their students, they are not always responsibile for a student's academic failure. The North American education system is modeled after the minds of University professors and PhDs who thrive in an "academic" environment. However, the system often does not take into account those who's minds function in a different way, and who may thrive in subject areas not highly recognized by their "academic" courses. For example, Gillian Lynne, one of the most famous coreographers in Broadway history (recognized by her works Cats and The Phantom
of the Opera), was once considered an "academic failure". As a seven year old, Lynne's teacher expressed serious concern to her mother due to her inability to sit still in class, and resulting failing grades. After a visit to the doctor's office, Lynne's doctor realized that Lynne's mind was engineered in a way that differed from the majority of the population. Her mind relied more exclusively on creativity and spacial relations. As a result of guidance from her doctor, Lynne's mother placed her in a school for dance, and Lynne grew to become a world renowned dancer, never mind a multimillionaire. In this case, it is clear that Lynne's school teacher was taking a vested interest in Lynne, rather than ignoring her problems. However, there was nothing that the teacher could have done to help her. It was not the teacher's "fault" that Lynne was failing her tests;
rather, Lynne's "academic" failure resulted from her inherent method of thinking.

Who is to decide whether teachers should accept responsibility for the failure of their students? As adult role models, teachers must try to engage their students in active learning. However, a teacher cannot always find a way to help a student
in need. In the case, such as that of Albert Einstein, where a students failure is based not on their inherent abilities, but rather on the education system they have been placed in, it must be the teacher, who has not guided them in the proper learning methods, who must accept responsibility for their failure. However, when a student continues to fail in the education system they have been placed in due to inherent differences in the way their mind processes information, teachers should not be held responsible.

One way to succeed in life is through the process of education. Teachers, being one of the main component of a sound and progressive of society, have roles to pass on important knonwledge and values to the young people. For instance, it is thier duty to ensure that students have thorough understanding of the material presented. If students fail in understanding and performing certain tasks, then it must be partially teacher's fault based on their inability to teach effectively. Thus, teachers must improve thier teaching quality to ensure that students who are willing to learn do not suffer from unintentional failure. For example, a recent study shows that almost 50% of Ontario students in grade 9 have difficulty passing math. This is largely due to the lack of preparation at the elementary level. Some elementary math teachers neither explain the concept clearly nor use visual presentation. As a result, students who wish to learn did not understand math fully, which have built weak foundations for high school math. Therefore, teachers should take partial responsibility for the student's failures as they taught math poorly.

However, there are situations where teachers do not have any responsibility for the failure of their students. This often occurs when students lack sufficient effort in learning. For example, in University, students have equal opportunities to succeed. Professors only have the task to teach materials presented in class, but it is ultimately students' responsibility to fully understand and apply them by attending review sessions or asking questions. Also, a professor does not have the responsibility to ensure every individual in the class pass the course. If a student fails to understand and perform well, it is because of lack of effort the student had, not professor's teaching quality.

So who is to blame? The debate of whether teachers have partial responsibility for the failure of thier students is difficult to resolve. Nevertheless, it is dependent on a student' effort. When a student is willing to learn, sufficient effort will be given; thus teachers are responsible if such student performs poorly. The quality of the teaching skill needs to be questioned. When a student does not have enough effort in learning, teachers cannot force such student to learn, like in University. Hence, poor performance do not relate to teachers, but to the students themselves.