What Kind of Education for What Kind of World?

This inaugural blog is written in a spirit of honour, honouring teachers. Teaching is one of the most important and profound occupations, dare I say, vocations, the world needs today. A great teacher makes all the difference. Great teachers are unique, and as a society we must acknowledge and appreciate them. 

At the top of one of my letters is a quote from Shanghai Normal University that speaks to living up to the title of teacher. That idea invites a deeper question: What is teaching? Or, more personally, how do I understand the act of teaching and the work of teachers? 

The act of teaching is among the most complex human endeavours. To begin with, a teacher must determine the essential understandings—what they hope students will know and be able to do as a result of a lesson. That alone may seem straightforward, but it quickly becomes far more complex. 

A teacher must consider the developmental level of each learner. A six-year-old is fundamentally different from a fifteen-year-old. Teachers must also account for students’ background knowledge: Are they novices? Do they bring partial understanding? Or deep prior knowledge? 

Layered onto this is the experience and expertise of the teacher. Is the teacher new to the subject or the profession, or are they a veteran with years of experience working with diverse learners and an intuitive sense of how and when to engage each student? 

Then there are the fundamental differences among human beings themselves. People are naturally inclined toward different subject areas, and teachers are no exception. Some are more attuned to certain disciplines than others. Now multiply all of this by 25 to 30 students in a single classroom. 

Consider what must live in a teacher’s mind as they engage in this deeply human and complex work. The judgment, emotional intelligence, patience, adaptability, and intellectual capacity required to be an excellent teacher are nothing short of remarkable. 

Yet because many of us have attended school, and because we don’t always reflect deeply on what teaching truly entails, it is easy to assume the work is simple I could do that, or why don’t they just do this? Nothing could be further from the truth. 

This blog is an homage to teachers. In the reflections that follow, I will explore a few truths about teaching that I believe are essential to understand and to honour.