I think you have a good point here. Everyone can teach, but not everyone can teach well. I learn more from passionate teachers, than from "plain" teachers. On the other hand, I've gained more from classes with (normally) boring teachers, but with engaged students who ask interesting questions, and then the teacher too gets more involved and inspiring. So, maybe even the students have to be engaged to learn too? That would be Tripple win ;)
koichi
· 8 months ago
That's a really good point, and not something I thought about at all! Students that want to learn can definitely re-inspire a teacher... something like that deserves its own article, very smart!
Gihan
· 8 months ago
Not anyone can teach. Teaching is a talant from Allah. So who feels this talant in himself, he can teach and benefit others with it. Also who likes teaching can teaches better than who takes teaching as a proffesion only, because when he likes teaching, he'll be creative in it.
Miss_igirisu
· 8 months ago
There are lots of untrained English teachers out in Japan who are living proof that with 2 days' practice, anyone can teach, but you are right in saying that some of those people cannot teach well. I worked with an ex-Nova man who was a good teacher generally, but as a TESOL-degree holding person, I could see things like how his language was far too complicated for the students, and his teaching technique was a little off. Teaching can be done with no training but for it to be done well, teacher-training is a must, I think.
KirstenWinkler
· 8 months ago
I am working on a post with this topic for my own blog for quite a while now. I think it depends on your definition of teaching. Yes, anyone who can read can "repeat" what is written in a school book. But is this really teaching?
It's like Formula 1 (or Nascar for you in the US). Everybody can make a driver's licence but only a selected and naturally talented group of people can handle a car (a class / a student) with 300 mph ;).
Btw, Jon send an interesting link to a speech of Bill Gates on Twitter a couple of days ago. Gates speaks about deseases (of course) but also education. Two of the main points are: 1) a Master degree does not affect your teaching at all 2) the top 25% of the teachers (most of them very young and "unexperienced") are able to lift the average in a class up to 10% per year!
I'd just like to highlight three of the things you said:
"My best teachers were good because they were passionate about teaching." "They are just passionate about something, and through that passion, could do an amazing job sharing it with the world." "Some greenhorn teachers will hit superstar teaching status, because they inspire others to learn."
I think it was the great Victorian educationalist (!) Matthew Arnold who said that the job of a teacher is not to teach, but to teach the pupils to teach themselves. Teaching isn't about passing on facts, teaching is about inspiration and motivation and pointing the way. You don't even have to be a teacher to do that: Probably anyone who's learnt a foreign language could give some very useful advice (not to mention inspiration and motivation) to someone who's just starting.
I suspect that interest and enthusiasm are infectious: If you're interested in what you're teaching (that text you're reading with the students), you'll probably find that your students will find it interesting too. If you don't even like the book you're using, how can you expect your students to?
One question comes to mind: What is teaching? If I've learnt one thing as a teacher, it's that teaching is a two-way thing. Sometimes I think I learn more from my students than they learn from me! Nobody likes being talked down to, most people have something to say and enjoy being listened to. Perhaps that's the quality a teacher needs: The ability to listen, the willingness to learn.
Not everybody is willing to listen: Not everybody can be a teacher!
Annie Cook
· 8 months ago
My daughter thinks I should be a teacher in school because she sees only teachers at school and mum at home. But I am Montessorian trained, teacher and have not been working since I have to look after her. She can sense there is value in the way I guide her on her schoolwork.
A teacher needs to become the fascilitator between the environment and the student. One cannot think of the student as an empty vessel to be filled in with knowledge. This thought will lead one to become the expert who has no time to help the student in any way in his journey. Yet an expert opinion is always good to have because experts spend many years studying just one field of knowledge and pursue it till he finds solutions to problems. He in turn passes on the knowledge to teachers.
Michelle
· 8 months ago
KOICHI! Yes I think that everybody can't be good at teaching, lol. But in the 9th grade I had a REALLY great teacher. I loved the way he taught, and the things he taught. He always kept thing interesting, and I learned A LOT. But, the thing was that I really sucked at his class, haha. It was amazing that he kept me so interested even when I was almost failing xD Then, this year my science teacher, is a really bad teacher (I guess my opinion?? but... not really, lol) She throws us worksheets every class, and doesn't even bother to tell us where to look. She just tells us the answer? Even to tests. She goes over the test questions right before the test as a "review" Lol. But I'm making an A so there's no need to complain. But its not one of my favorite classes... But I've always felt that teaching a language is EXTRA hard >_<" My first Spanish teacher was REALLY confusing, my second Spanish teacher was REALLY good, and then my third Spanish teacher makes it fun. It takes a while to find a great teacher, lol. Anyways... yeaaaaaahhh!~~ I'm done saying random things ;D
DamonBarnhurst
· 3 months ago
I believe anyone can teach, but not everyone can teach all things well. No teacher knows everything. Just like everyone can learn, but some are better at being a more persistant and dedicated learner. Teaching is an art that requires constant work and dedication to be the best. To be great at anything requires dedication. I like that passion was mentioned. Passionate teachers are what inspires students, not the knowledge they have. I also believe that anyone can teach, but not everyone is a teacher. To be a teacher today is much more than just dispersing knowledge. Those of you that are teachers know what I am saying. I know many people that are great (teachers) presenters and they are very inspiring. However, I know they would never step foot in a school classroom because they don't have the other intangibles of an effective teacher. How many of you have heard things like, "I could never do what you do." Or perhaps you have heard, "They really should pay you guys more for what you do." Some of these intangibles would include patience and flexibility. Teachers don't just prepare a lesson and share it with the class. There is so much more to being a teacher.
Last Longer In Bed
· 2 months ago
You are very correct. It takes experience and passion to teach well. Some people do it just to make a living and the do the students an injustice. Those that have the passion leave a positive impact on the student that lasts a lifetime.
All Comments
On the other hand, I've gained more from classes with (normally) boring teachers, but with engaged students who ask interesting questions, and then the teacher too gets more involved and inspiring. So, maybe even the students have to be engaged to learn too? That would be Tripple win ;)
Teaching can be done with no training but for it to be done well, teacher-training is a must, I think.
I think it depends on your definition of teaching. Yes, anyone who can read can "repeat" what is written in a school book. But is this really teaching?
It's like Formula 1 (or Nascar for you in the US). Everybody can make a driver's licence but only a selected and naturally talented group of people can handle a car (a class / a student) with 300 mph ;).
Btw, Jon send an interesting link to a speech of Bill Gates on Twitter a couple of days ago. Gates speaks about deseases (of course) but also education.
Two of the main points are:
1) a Master degree does not affect your teaching at all
2) the top 25% of the teachers (most of them very young and "unexperienced") are able to lift the average in a class up to 10% per year!
Follow the white rabbit: http://www.ted.com/talks/bill_gates_unplugged.html He starts talking about education at the middle of the presentation ;)
I'd just like to highlight three of the things you said:
"My best teachers were good because they were passionate about teaching."
"They are just passionate about something, and through that passion, could do an amazing job sharing it with the world."
"Some greenhorn teachers will hit superstar teaching status, because they inspire others to learn."
I think it was the great Victorian educationalist (!) Matthew Arnold who said that the job of a teacher is not to teach, but to teach the pupils to teach themselves. Teaching isn't about passing on facts, teaching is about inspiration and motivation and pointing the way. You don't even have to be a teacher to do that: Probably anyone who's learnt a foreign language could give some very useful advice (not to mention inspiration and motivation) to someone who's just starting.
I suspect that interest and enthusiasm are infectious: If you're interested in what you're teaching (that text you're reading with the students), you'll probably find that your students will find it interesting too. If you don't even like the book you're using, how can you expect your students to?
One question comes to mind: What is teaching? If I've learnt one thing as a teacher, it's that teaching is a two-way thing. Sometimes I think I learn more from my students than they learn from me! Nobody likes being talked down to, most people have something to say and enjoy being listened to. Perhaps that's the quality a teacher needs: The ability to listen, the willingness to learn.
Not everybody is willing to listen: Not everybody can be a teacher!
A teacher needs to become the fascilitator between the environment and the student. One cannot think of the student as an empty vessel to be filled in with knowledge. This thought will lead one to become the expert who has no time to help the student in any way in his journey. Yet an expert opinion is always good to have because experts spend many years studying just one field of knowledge and pursue it till he finds solutions to problems. He in turn passes on the knowledge to teachers.
But in the 9th grade I had a REALLY great teacher. I loved the way he taught, and the things he taught. He always kept thing interesting, and I learned A LOT. But, the thing was that I really sucked at his class, haha. It was amazing that he kept me so interested even when I was almost failing xD
Then, this year my science teacher, is a really bad teacher (I guess my opinion?? but... not really, lol) She throws us worksheets every class, and doesn't even bother to tell us where to look. She just tells us the answer? Even to tests. She goes over the test questions right before the test as a "review" Lol. But I'm making an A so there's no need to complain. But its not one of my favorite classes...
But I've always felt that teaching a language is EXTRA hard >_<"
My first Spanish teacher was REALLY confusing, my second Spanish teacher was REALLY good, and then my third Spanish teacher makes it fun. It takes a while to find a great teacher, lol. Anyways... yeaaaaaahhh!~~
I'm done saying random things ;D
I also believe that anyone can teach, but not everyone is a teacher. To be a teacher today is much more than just dispersing knowledge. Those of you that are teachers know what I am saying. I know many people that are great (teachers) presenters and they are very inspiring. However, I know they would never step foot in a school classroom because they don't have the other intangibles of an effective teacher. How many of you have heard things like, "I could never do what you do." Or perhaps you have heard, "They really should pay you guys more for what you do." Some of these intangibles would include patience and flexibility. Teachers don't just prepare a lesson and share it with the class. There is so much more to being a teacher.