Role model? Mentor? How bout letting the parents be the role models and mentors and leaving the teaching to the teachers.
The problem is that you're not differentiating different types of role models and/or mentors that children/adolescents can have.
If a 15 year old loves chemistry, then it would make sense that the student would look toward his chemistry teacher as a role model/mentor within the field of science. It would make no sense for the 15 year old to get advice about chemistry from his parents, especially if they knew zero about chemistry. In fact, many great scientists have had role models/mentors who were professors or teachers (not parents) and sought advice from these professors/teachers regarding their academic endeavors. Its the same way with sport professionals. Many professional sport players have had coaches who were role models/mentors to help guide them within the field of sports--again, not their parents.
However, in terms of boundaries, rules and discipline, the role models/mentors should be the parents (in a perfect world).
But, often, it just doesn't work that way. The foundation of my moral development came from my parents. However, as I became older, I had other mentors within my field of study who helped reform and advance my thinking about many areas of life--this is something my parents could not provide me given their limited knowledge.
You can have different mentors/role models for different areas of your life.
