By trade, we are tolerant people who cope with hundreds of developing personalities in dozens of chaotic situations. Yet, despite our much-touted patience, there are a few things that rile teachers as professionals and they aren’t what you would expect. The kids are great, parents want what’s best, and administrators do what they can with the limited resources and power they actually have.
Even up against truly serious issues, one idea grates at our collective nerves. Put aside, for a moment, the complete lack of cultural follow-through regarding the causes of our national education gap [http://goo.gl/0dgnm]. Step away from thoughts of those who misunderstand tenure or attempt to roll back labor laws and union rights for public employees.
Regardless of state, district, or stance on school vouchers, one phrase rises above irritation and undercuts any possibility for discourse.
“Those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach.”
This phrase, and the thought behind it, reduces teachers to failures who aren’t fit to hold the recycled paper on which their taxpayer-funded check is printed.
Recently, I had to defend my chosen career against someone who used this quote. Worse yet, the person with whom I was arguing insisted that the term was not a criticism against teachers. It is bad enough that he said it, but the least he could have done was have the misaligned ideology to stand behind it.
So, for the good of all teachers, I tried to educate him about the phrase's meaning. I researched. I cited. I argued. I was wrong.
This isn’t to say that the person I was talking to was right. Few things could be further from the truth. (At one point he said that the whole quote was: “Those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach. Those who do neither are at my school.” This version isn't even a close rip off of Woody Allen.)
No, I was wrong on a much deeper level. I fell into the same trap as many others who argue their passions: I simply didn’t know what I was talking about. Worse, I was as ignorant of the meaning (and phrasing) of the original quote as the people who commonly use it.
It is a crushing feeling for a teacher to experience, not because teachers always have to be right for their pride or egos, but because we know how much weight our words carry. When teachers are wrong, substantive and long-lasting damage is done.
The original quote from George Bernard Shaw's Maxims for Revolutionists reads: "He who can, does. He who cannot, teaches. A learned man is an idler who kills time with study. Beware of his false knowledge: it is more dangerous than ignorance. Activity is the only road to knowledge." http://www.bartleby.com/157/6.html
It is only a few lines from the larger section on education in which Shaw rails against universities, college dons, and moral or religious instruction. The worst part of the whole experience was that the more I read, the more I agreed with it.
I was horrified. How could I agree with any part of it? This is the battle cry for those who wish to reduce my profession to a scripted, ideology-pushing, minimum-wage-earning, test-score-driven, part-time job that is forbidden to teach critical thinking skills [http://goo.gl/rqGYU]. Shouldn't I be outraged?
After a short break to collect my thoughts (and daughter from her after-school activities), I realized that I'd broken through a barrier in my understanding of teaching.
Teachers prevent the decay of our national intelligence and, in many tangible ways, we're losing. One of the most noticeable is the devolution of our country's ability to filter fact from fallacy. School is no longer the undisputed source of information and teachers no longer hold the authority to denounce foolish radicalization. Worse yet, attacks on teacher credibility have gone, for the most part, unanswered.
Many consider Shaw's quote an attack against teachers, but it reads more like a criticism of a failed system of education. In fact, a second reading of that quote looks like support for the model of experiential learning and problem-based inquiry that is present in most progressive classrooms across the country.
As annoyed as I was with this quote (and the person who used it), the encounter reminded me that I don't have the luxury enjoyed by so many radio hosts and cable “news” channels. False knowledge is, as Shaw warns, worse than ignorance. If activity is the best road to knowledge, then the practice and process of self-discovery is best learned from a teacher.
Teachers are authors, tutors, college professors, physical trainers, salespeople, and small-business owners. Many attend voluntary training sessions and actively engage in their own development. They do this work because they are passionate, have dynamic skill sets, and can bring these talents back into the classroom as professional educators.
At The Writing Teacher, I will continue my own self-discovery as an author and educator. On the site and through this blog, I will:
- Outline future book, short story, and lesson ideas.
- Review websites and news for writers and teachers.
- Comment on opportunities and hurdles for teachers and independent writers.
- Spotlight some of the dozens of my colleagues who do amazing work in and out of the classroom.
I won't commit to a posting schedule, but I will commit to a vision. It is a simple idea that is long overdue...
He who can, teaches.
