Many teachers deal with their students as though learning would certainly follow if the teacher has the required knowledge and ability to teach. This, I believe, often gives rise to good teaching attitude and practices. But we should also understand and keep in mind that, in the context of formal schooling, teaching and learning are neither causally nor logically connected. That is to say, learning does not entail the occurrence of teaching. Much less, teaching does entail learning. Now, this is just an introduction, not the issue itself.
Should you allow your conscience then to nag you if you're a failed teacher to your students? Take note that, with this question, I'm not suggesting that you have nothing to worry about if your students didn't learn from you. Just think about the issue without bothering whether we've similar answers to the problem that I've just stated. (TO BE CONTINUED)
2 comments:
I think the question here is how does a teacher define "failure to teach"? Is it all about grades? I've been teaching for some years now and I know that a perfect exam score doesn't equal true learning. On the other hand, I've had students who have failed my tests miserably come up to me years later and drop the title of a symphony or name of a composer that I taught her class. Or they tell me that they've now taken up an instrument or have been listening to Bartok.
How does one measure the impact one makes on a student's life? Because I think that's what teaching really is. It's not about the information that you give, really. They can stash those away temporarily in their brains and expel them once the grades are handed in. It's about inspiration. You want your students curious. You want them to question.
When can we say that the teacher has failed to teach his/her student? This is a huge problem. Various educational contexts suggest different answers. Failure to teach is often taken as failure to attain certain teaching goals.
But whose goals are these? The teacher's or the school administrator's? And what exactly are these goals? These problems seem to be leading to another interesting question: What ought to be the goal of teaching? Now, this matter requires a separate and more detailed post. I think I should discuss the concepts of "aim," "objective," and "goal" to bring the main issue into focus.
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