Liam Julian on Whiny Teachers
Over at The Flypaper, official blog of the Fordham Foundation, Liam Julian has written an interesting post on the defensive admonition common to the profession: "You can't know what it's like--you've never been a teacher!" He finds that to be a crap argument, and I don't disagree, but as a counterpoint I'd like to remind everyone of the words of famous education observer John Rambo:
I think it can be universally accepted that teaching requires a certain skill set to transmit information to the students and get them to retain it. There's a science to teaching, and there's an art to teaching. I don't think it's out of line to suggest that if you haven't practiced the craft then you don't really have an authentic understanding of what's involved.
Consider, as an example, the practice of law. I've a layman's understanding of what's involved in being a lawyer, but when it comes to knowing what goes into getting a case ready for trial, or having the knowledge of case law that makes a good lawyer effective, I can only guess. When I pass judgment on lawyers (e.g., "Marcia Clark sure screwed that up!") it's not an informed opinion, nor should it be considered as such.
And that's why this piece from Julian's article makes no sense:
I think this also goes to the research/practice divide that I've written about before; a theoretical understanding can only become a practical understanding through application of the theory, and most K-12 schools as constructed aren't designed for that sort of experimentation.
It's an important conversation to have.
Col. Troutman: You did everything to make this private war happen. You've done enough damage. This mission is over, Rambo. Do you understand me? This mission is over! Look at them out there! Look at them! If you won't end this now, they will kill you. Is that what you want? It's over Johnny. It's over!Comparing teachers to mentally unstable Vietnam veterans is a stretch, but let's play with the idea for a minute.
Rambo: Nothing is over! Nothing! You just don't turn it off! It wasn't my war! You asked me, I didn't ask you! And I did what I had to do to win! But somebody wouldn't let us win! And I come back to the world and I see all those maggots at the airport, protesting me, spitting. Calling me baby killer and all kinds of vile crap! Who are they to protest me? Who are they? Unless they've been me and been there and know what the hell they're yelling about!
I think it can be universally accepted that teaching requires a certain skill set to transmit information to the students and get them to retain it. There's a science to teaching, and there's an art to teaching. I don't think it's out of line to suggest that if you haven't practiced the craft then you don't really have an authentic understanding of what's involved.
Consider, as an example, the practice of law. I've a layman's understanding of what's involved in being a lawyer, but when it comes to knowing what goes into getting a case ready for trial, or having the knowledge of case law that makes a good lawyer effective, I can only guess. When I pass judgment on lawyers (e.g., "Marcia Clark sure screwed that up!") it's not an informed opinion, nor should it be considered as such.
And that's why this piece from Julian's article makes no sense:
Furthermore, the teachers who evoke this lame excuse are typically lightyears behind the wonks they vilify in realizing what actually works for public schools.Oh, are they now? It's one thing to be Ken DeRosa and trumpet the power of Direct Instruction, but it's another to actually be in the schoolhouse and make the modifications to accomodate DI, or RTI, or SFA, or TAG education, or widening the math pipeline, or differentiated instruction, or more counselors, or more librarians, or.....
I think this also goes to the research/practice divide that I've written about before; a theoretical understanding can only become a practical understanding through application of the theory, and most K-12 schools as constructed aren't designed for that sort of experimentation.
It's an important conversation to have.
Labels: flypaper, Fordham, Liam Julian, research-to-practice
posted by Ryan at 12:30 PM
4 Comments:
Ryan, teachers, as experts in classroom presentations and management, should be able to articulate their expertise and not rely upon the cald assertion that they are "esperts."
As a lawyer I have special expertise in preparing cases for trial. If I were to opine on the minutiae of trial prep and a laymen were to challenge me, I would not rely on my status as an expert. Rather I would explain why I thought I was right and he was Wrong.
I'm not going to talk for all policy wonks, but I, personally, make suer I read up on all the articles I read from the actual peple who do work in classsrooms. The DI people publish extensively in this area and rely on them heavily for almost all of my opinions since they are the experts, ehereas I am not.
I think it's fair to say that teachers know things that people who have never taught in a grade school or high school do not (the same holds true for all jobs). That said, such a statement isn't a sufficient rebuttal to informed criticism; it's the old "appeal to expertise" logical fallacy. At the same time, the often vitriolic contempt for teachers exhibited by critics of public education almost ensures that anger and contempt is what they get in return. "Don't take it personally; I'm sure you're a good teacher" doesn't work, nor should it.
Statewide policymaking and statewide system management are different skills from classroom teaching.
An excellent teacher has something to add to the policymaker's decisionmaking, but the "in the trenches" view doesn't necessarily trump the birds-eye view.
Besides, dynamics like "the tragedy of the commons"
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragedy_of_the_commons )
and "the prisoner's dilemma"
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prisoner%27s_dilemma )
make certain that the on-the-ground perspective should be taken with a grain of salt.
JL
This is why I love my commenters; they're a smart group of people.
I hadn't heard about the Tragedy of the Commons before--it sounds like a Hallmark movie, actually--but it makes sense, particularly as the state moves along with the various funding lawsuits.
In Michael's comment I see the benefit of the on-the-ground perspective, and I think that there will always be tension in the dynamic between those who have and those who haven't. You're right in that respectful presentation is important, because it's rather hard to take advice from someone who thinks you're a moron.
Ken, in re-reading what I wrote I can see that it comes off harsher than what I intended, and I apologize for that. I'd consider you the most vocal advocate for DI and Engelmann, and as someone who has been desperately pushing DI for our struggling readers I'm totally on board. The trick is getting from the research to the practice when so many teachers value their own experience over any outside theory, no matter how well proven.
Thank you all!
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