Perhaps the most important roles teachers fill involve interacting with students. Teachers must be leaders in the classroom and in the school, earning the respect of students and setting a positive example. They must be disciplinarians, doling out fair and consistent punishments to students who break the rules. At the same time, teachers must show care and concern for students. A teacher has the power to build up or tear down a student's self-esteem and make a student's day or ruin it in an instant. When interacting with students, a teacher must fill the role of a counselor, a surrogate parent, a nutritionist and someone who has the best interests of every child at heart