Teachers are the organizers of the teaching process and the guides, promoters and helpers of learning. In the teaching process, teachers' own qualities, such as teachers' moral quality, teachers' knowledge structure and the ability to use teaching media, are the key factors affecting students' learning. But students can also learn independently without the participation of teachers, so they can also carry out the teaching process without teachers.

School education consists of activities taught by teachers and activities learned by students. In the educational activities composed of "teaching" and "learning", teachers and students, as active individuals, are the main bodies of educational activities. In the process of education, which is more important, teachers or students? Who is the center and who is the subordinate? For a long time, this has become a major issue in the history of education. There are two different views on the status of teachers and students in the process of education in history. One view is that teachers are the center of educational activities and occupy a major position in the educational process. This view is mainly held by the traditional educational school represented by German educator Herbart. Another view is that students are the center of educational activities and occupy a major position in the educational process, and teachers must give up the tasks of instructors and commanders and play the role of assistants. This view is mainly held by the progressive education school represented by American educator Dewey.

With the evolution of history and the continuous development of educational practice and theory, people put forward many different views on the position of teachers in the educational process. For example, some people advocate that the education process should be teacher-centered, some people think that the education process should be student-centered, some people think that both teachers and students are subjects in the education process, which is the so-called "double subject", and others advocate that the education process should be teacher-led and student-centered. These views and opinions reveal some laws of the status of teachers and students in the education process from different aspects and to different degrees. However, as far as the essence of the educational process and the characteristics of teachers and students themselves are concerned, teachers should be in a leading position and play a leading role.