Teachers, Professional and OtherwiseBefore I
Fri., January 2, 03:33 PM
Teachers, Professional and Otherwise
Before I start, I have to recount an item about Husband, who inspired this post. Not that today’s story has anything to do with it; it just explains why he’s funny even when he’s annoying.
I was in the shower this morning when I heard a tap on the door. I called out “you can come in, I’m in the shower.” No response. I call out louder, “you can come in.” He calls back, “are you in the shower?” “YES.”
So he comes in and greets me, “what’s going on?” Fortunately, no answer was required. I’m thinking, “I’m enclosed in a narrow space with water pouring on my head; I do not have a newsfeed in here!”
The day after the funeral, Husband felt it necessary to explain to U.D. and me why George meant so much to him. (Actually, he had told me the story before, but he doesn’t remember telling me.) When Husband was a child, he was told that he was stupid. A child will believe that, because he’s supposed to believe what grownups tell him. (And this was an orphan, a child who had no parent to stand up for him.) George told him he wasn’t stupid, and he showed Husband how to do things, building on what he already knew instead of chastising him for what he didn’t. Strange – that makes sense to me but, as I’ve said, I’m not a teacher. In Connecticut, State law governs who may or may not teach in a public school. Teachers are licensed and must have completed a given number of education courses. I am not a teacher by that definition, whether or not I occasionally find myself in that position.
The Socratic method of teaching consists of asking the pupil questions that will lead him to discover the answers for himself. I taught my kids that way, not because I was versed in the Socratic method, but because it worked for us. It’s the old joke: “Why does a Jew always answer a question with another question?” “Why not?” I think that if you expose a child to all kinds of stuff – people, situations, science – the child will absorb far more than you might expect. Mine did; either my logic is valid or my kinds are smarter than most. Take your pick.
I once worked a temporary job in a place that prided itself on hiring the underprivileged, providing them with state-of-the-art equipment, and training them to do the work required. I was sharing an office with one of these women, and I commented on what a nice mouse she had. She agreed that it looked nice, but she couldn’t seem to make it work; it always seemed to be going the wrong way. I watched her and realized that no one had ever shown her how to use a mouse. And they called that training!
So I explained to her how the mouse was designed to fit her hand so that the buttons were always under her fingers and had her try it again. I certainly didn’t say she had been improperly taught or that she had missed something. This time the mouse worked for her, and she was very, very grateful. (That assignment, incidentally, paid all of $9 per hour, which was low pay even then.) Oh, yes, may I add that no one will hire me to teach computers and word processing. There’s no law about that, but…
Over the past ten years, I’ve temped in a lot of places and helped whoever asked. I taught a professor of genetics some tricks about word processing and PowerPoint. (He wanted to be able to show his regular secretary.) I gave young people the tools to figure out grammar questions and showed them how to make their equipment work for them. Basically, I just drew out what they knew already.
Y’see, it’s not that I don’t appreciate teachers. I love watching pupils develop, no matter who’s doing the job. I just wish more of those holding the title were trained to teach.
