On the Road to Hell

Yes, I teach.  But I sure as hell don't understand the vast majority of teachers.  Probably never will.

Modern teaching is the queerest of careers. Knowledge and expertise are not only unimportant, they are constantly and continuously degraded by those who are supposedly the masters of the field.  (But that's another post.)  Teaching is the only subject where it is better to care about the job rather than do the job well.  Just as long as a teacher cares about little Johnny, it doesn't matter whether she teaches him to read or do math or the contents of the Bill of Rights.

My question is:  Which will be important for Johnny twenty years from now?  Knowing how to read, or having vague memories of someone who cared about him 12 years ago? 

When you come right down to it doesn't teaching Johnny how to do math show that you care? Doesn't teaching Johnny how to behave in civilized society show that you care?  Doesn't making sure he has the tools to live the life he wants a demonstration of love?  One that is much, much more powerful than a few dozen smiles and hugs?

Think about this the next time you tell a teacher she's mean, or strict, or demanding.  Think about the fact she sees her students not as they are today but how they will be twenty years in the future.  Think about the multitude of ways people show one another they care.

Think about it.

What's Wrong with American Education - Reason #457392

"I don't want students to know what they're learning."

Believe it or not, I've heard this sentence more than once, from more than one teacher.  Every time I do, it leaves me apoplectic.  Why on God's green earth do you not want your students to know what they are learning?  Is there some contagious disease that comes with knowledge and understanding?

If you do not tell your students what they are learning, then you are not teaching.

In other words, doing is not teaching.  (Neither is telling, but that's another post.)  Doing is just doing.  Doing an activity does not confer understanding on its participants.  Understanding is the key to both teaching and learning.  Teachers break down a subject and present it (through a variety of means) so students can understand it.  Certainly doing, or practicing, is a part of the learning process, but there is much more to it.  There is vocabulary, identification, reasoning, relationships, discovery, etc.   If I want a class to learn steady beat, we will practice it constantly and in a variety of settings.  But we will also define the words "steady" and "beat."  We will listen to pieces with and without a steady beat.   The students would learn to recognize a steady beat in music they hear.  We will explore the connection between beat and tempo; and when the beat changes on purpose.  We will answer the question: Why does music have a beat? 

Anyone can train a monkey to keep a steady beat.  But, aside imitating a human, the monkey has not learned anything.  Surely we should strive for more when teaching our children.