Quite frankly, there is no phrase I have ever heard that I have hated so much as 'well, those who can do and those who can't teach!" As someone who's always loved school, and wanted to be a teacher, it's insulting not only to my intelligence but also to the profession as a whole.
Ever since I started telling people that I was an elementary education major, I've heard my fair share. I've gotten patronizing looks, simpering "oh, that's so fun," and the backhanded compliment "oh, but you're so smart! Why are you wasting it?" Personally, I couldn't think of a more conscientious and thoughtful line of work. But of course, I'm just a first-semester college freshman, so I went to the experts. This week, I spoke with Roger Williams University professor Dr. Kelly Donnell, an expert in the educational field. She's been a teacher for 34 years and has contributed to over a dozen professional articles, instructional books, and collections. One fo the first things we talked about was the propensity for public vilification of teachers.
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Most everyone has experienced formal education in their lifetime. Whether it's public, private or charter, we've all been in an institution of education. "It's [education is] just such a common experience... a universal experience," Dr. Donnell stated. As a result, everyone and their mother seems to think that they are basically a teacher. I mean, you've been a student for 12+ years, so you're basically a teacher, right? No, not really. That'd be like saying "oh, I've had surgery before, so I'm basically a surgeon."
Dr. Donnell refers to it professionally as the "apprenticeship of observation." In our years of compulsory education throughout our childhood, we became like apprentices to our teachers, watching what they did and trying to emulate it in our own work. While we may understand the teaching strategies teachers use (ie. worksheets, lectures and seminar instructions) we have no idea why they do it. Unfortunately, people seem to think that knowing what they do is synonymous with knowing why they do it. This is simply not the case.
"Teaching is really intellectual work," Donnell laughs. "It’s very challenging and demanding intellectual work. I think if there was some way that we could portray that more effectively we might be able to counter some of the simplistic bashings that happen to teachers." And she's right. Teachers don't get accurate representation in the media- be it news or popular culture. Teachers are seen as unequivocal heroes who defy expectations and reach students in ways no one else can (see Dead Poets Society , Stand and Deliver or Freedom Writers for proof). Or, on the opposite end of the spectrum, teachers are the butt of the joke. Look at any comedy on TV and you'll find an apathetic teacher, a rude dictatorial teacher who worships standardized testing and rules, and a bumbling, overeager fool who tries too hard or doesn't understand the content material. Either way, teachers are not portrayed in a very flattering light.
It's no wonder people devalue teachers and teaching when all they see are the two extremes. It's no wonder people think that teaching is easy when all they've experienced is being a student. Donnell weighs in on this issue of people who ..."attribute a sense of not working very hard or the fact that the job is so easy or the fact that you get so much time off is [not an accurate representation that] just because that’s what you experienced as a student doesn’t mean that’s what the life of a teacher is actually like."
You're right when you say that teachers aren't in their classrooms over the summer, but that does not mean that they aren't working. You're right to say that teachers can leave their classrooms when the school day is over, but that does not mean that their work stops when they close that door. There are always lessons to plan, tests to grade, homework to check, parent-teacher conferences to attend, activities to create, and more. In classes that can range from 20-30 students, teachers need to find ways to reach each of those 20-30 students at their exact needs all while moving the curriculum along, adhering to strict state and national guidelines, improving standardized test scores (without teaching to the test because heaven forbid), and reaching out to the community.
"I mean, [teachers] have so many other different hats that they have to wear that that creates challenges and complexities to the teacher’s work as well," Donnell explains. We expect so much of our teachers. We expect them to be role models, educators, social care workers, health care workers, and community advocates. We expect them to be superhuman and accomplish so many things, yet at the same time, we debase their profession. We laugh and say teaching is easy- a fall-back career- and we pay them next to nothing. It's a well-accepted fact that no one goes into teaching for the money. I want to know: why?
Why are we solely in charge of raising the future generations, but treated like dirt? Why are we held to these unattainable expectations then torn to pieces regardless of whether or not we actually achieve them? Why do people still think it's a good idea to tell potential education majors that "those who can do and those who can't teach"? (Seriously, why do people think that's okay to say to people?)
Teaching is hard. Teaching is complex. Teaching is intellectual, and it's high time we start treating it as the respected, noble profession it is rather than a fall-back for people with no direction, drive or intelligence. It's high time we treated teachers as they're worth.
