"A teacher’s ability to relate well with students is more important than excellent knowledge of the subject being taught."
I agree with the statement, it is more important that teachers relate to their students than how is their knowledge about a certain subject.
First, because nowadays the internet makes it really easy to access any kind of information. Even if the teacher gives their students some kind of incorrect information, the students will be able to double check whatever their teacher has told them and end up with the correct information.
Second, because for properly learning anything learning it by oneself is necessary. Making students interested and motivated to continue learning is more important than how accurate is the information they are given. In order to do this, it is of course necessary that the teachers understand their students interests and motivation, that they relate to them, so they can present the subject in a way that is more probable to make them engaged. This way the unmotivated students will put less time in learning than the motivated students, thus the motivated students will spend more time studying and, in consequence, will learn more.
This is why I think that it is more important that the teachers relate well with their students than how knowledgeable they are. Because of how convenient is internet for double checking information, and because it is important that the students are motivated by their teachers to continue learning by themselves.
Well-written post! I started to write a response, but given the depth of my ideas on the topic, I think it would be better suited for a post of its own. But the short answer is, while I believe teachers should care about the success of the students, I disagree with the statement as written. I believe that this paints an unfair image of teachers as a whole and ignores the importance of a supportive home. It also ignores that if a teacher has a less-than-excellent level of knowledge (in regard to the specific topic being taught), the older the student, the less likely the student is to respect the teacher. And the younger the student, the less likely they are to double-check information given to them by the teacher.