{"id":348116,"date":"2025-09-15T17:27:34","date_gmt":"2025-09-15T22:27:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/15\/on-teachers-and-teaching-and-the-essential-criticism-of-it-all\/"},"modified":"2025-09-15T17:27:34","modified_gmt":"2025-09-15T22:27:34","slug":"on-teachers-and-teaching-and-the-essential-criticism-of-it-all","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/15\/on-teachers-and-teaching-and-the-essential-criticism-of-it-all\/","title":{"rendered":"On Teachers And Teaching And The Essential Criticism Of It All"},"content":{"rendered":"

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In 2015 (and updated most recently in 2024), I wrote a post about helping students learn more from \u2018others\u2019 than they do from you<\/a><\/strong> (the teacher).<\/p>\n

The general premise is that modern learning is, in large part, about access, networks, spaces, and personalization\u2013and there\u2019s simply no way for a single teacher to \u2018do\u2019 this. In fact, it\u2019s important to note that teaching, as it is, has never been sustainable. Public education promises too much and places far too large of a burden on classroom teachers who do their best to fulfill those \u2018promises\u2019 while protecting and nurturing children and it simply doesn\u2019t really work well<\/em> for anyone.<\/p>\n

I suppose it could be argued that it does, in fact, work well but we\u2019d have to simply agree to disagree at that point\u2013which is okay. It takes a mosaic of perspectives to make the world go.<\/p>\n

Recently, I updated that post and shared it on social media and was surprised to immediately get urgent, stinging pushback.<\/p>\n

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What rubbish.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Gillian Perry (@mitten2009) May 3, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Carl Marks (alias? He is a history teacher, after all if his username can be decoded) used emojis to convey his disagreement.<\/p>\n

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\ud83e\udd22\ud83d\ude37\ud83e\udd2e<\/p>\n

\u2014 Carl Marks \ud83d\udc68\ud83c\udffb\u200d\ud83c\udfeb (@MrEHistorE) May 3, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Liane got straight to the point with a full-on dismissal of both the idea and of TeachThought as an organization\u2013and ended with drip of sarcasm on the way out.<\/p>\n

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Why on earth was I following this account? What utter nonsense. Points for the watermark, though \u2013 made me grin \ud83d\ude01<\/p>\n

\u2014 LianePL (@LPLFlippedEng) May 3, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

This one from Anthony Jones wasn\u2019t mean-spirited but concisely refutes the post.<\/p>\n

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The most compelling, ongoing source and catalyst for learning in the classroom is the teacher.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Anthony Jones (@sorelaboursbath) May 3, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

This response from Sunne of York was less even-handed:<\/p>\n

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Below, Brendan asked for research and evidence to support the ideas in the post:<\/p>\n

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Any actual evidence that this works?<\/p>\n

\u2014 Brendan breen (@BreenBrendan) May 3, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Fair enough. I can\u2019t support each item with recent, peer-reviewed and credible research. That\u2019s true. But the general premise that teachers are over-worked and that children (generally) have incredible access to more information than ever and that somehow the latter could help improve the former hopefully doesn\u2019t need supported with research. <\/p>\n

The whole idea here is to connect students with an ecosystem of information, inspiration, people, and ideas. And that these ideas and opportunities and places and people and ideas should be more \u2018impactful\u2019 and \u2018compelling\u2019 than a single teacher.<\/p>\n

That can\u2019t possibly be controversial, can it?<\/p>\n

Are Teachers \u2018Bottlenecks\u2019 Or Are They \u2018Overworked\u2019 And What\u2019s The Difference?<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the introduction, I set the context:<\/p>\n

\u201cWho or what is the most persistent catalyst in the process of learning? Frequently, it\u2019s probably you (the teacher). You\u2019re the expert on both content and pedagogy. You know what\u2019s being learned, and how it might be best learned. Giving students full autonomy in their own learning might be fine for motivation, but that can be a problem for a variety of reasons. The teacher is finite. The teacher is limited. The teacher has \u2018self-bias\u2019\u2013sees things from their point-of-view no matter how hard they try to show empathy. In a teacher-centered classroom, the teacher is the bottleneck.\u201d<\/p>\n

But here is where I get closer to my \u2018point\u2019: \u201cThe big idea here is sustainability by creating an ecosystem of learning that is based on creativity, interest, and possibility as brought to bear by students on topics, problems, and opportunities they care about.\u201d<\/p>\n

Are Teachers Important?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Of course they are.<\/p>\n

My guess is that either some didn\u2019t actually read the post or they focused on the implication that teachers shouldn\u2019t be the center of the learning universe and that it\u2019s it may not be ideal if, day in and day out, the most compelling and forceful and dynamic \u2019cause\u2019 of learning for 35 children is one adult (often for five or more classes a day).<\/p>\n

I\u2019m assuming it\u2019s tempting to twist that statement around a little and believe that I\u2019m saying that teachers aren\u2019t as effective as other sources of learning, maybe? Or that they\u2019re not absolutely crucial to the learning process? Or that textbooks and apps are more effective than teachers?<\/p>\n

Regardless of the source of the misunderstanding (that I\u2019ll accept responsibility for), I would think a teacher would be glad for children to have the very best: the very best learning environments with the very best opportunities to become their very best.<\/p>\n

Why be upset about who helps facilitate that or who assigns what percentage across all of the bits and pieces of it all?<\/p>\n

And even if the idea was criticism of teachers, as professionals are we not due for and deserving of criticism\u2013ideally self-criticism<\/a><\/strong>?<\/p>\n

The Education We Have And The Education They Need<\/strong><\/p>\n

While emotionally I\u2019m more interested in the nature of digital interactions\u2013how effortlessly people become awful to one another when the agreement is on social media of some kind\u2013I\u2019ll respond more broadly instead to clarify my position.<\/p>\n

I am more than prepared to have large segments of any audience disagree with things I say. I fundamentally believe that the way we (myself included) do things isn\u2019t our best thinking, which implies that what we\u2019re doing and who is responsible for those actions, and how we might improve them are all inherently flawed.<\/p>\n

This means each of us is, to some degree, accountable and because I am interested in doing whatever I can to improve these systems, sometimes I am going to criticize organizational systems and principles and policies that are actuated by people and some of those people might take it personally. And become upset. I get it.<\/p>\n

I also get that as if teaching wasn\u2019t difficult enough, the last 12 months have elevated the challenge ten-fold. The job of \u2018teaching\u2019 is academic and psychological and scientific all at once and each of those domains has been laid bare by global events (i.e., COVID and its countless sociocultural ripples). Teachers are stressed, pushed to their limits in many cases, and lacking support, respect, gratitude, funding, and countless other areas.<\/p>\n

But this only reinforces a key point: teaching, as it is, is neither sustainable nor in the best interest of the majority of children. No matter how hard we work, what we have and do isn\u2019t the education they deserve and need.<\/p>\n

How teachers think about themselves and their role in the classroom matters (see here, for example). As a teacher, I\u2019d want<\/em> help. I\u2019d want automations and human networks and live streaming and adaptive learning algorithms. To facilitate learning in whatever form.<\/p>\n

While I hope I personally have an impact on the lives of students, I hope it happens by proxy.<\/p>\n

After helping my students discover syntax and Faulkner and tone and Toni Morrison and Emily Dickinson and thematic development and Shakespeare, I\u2019d be more than a little disappointed if the most enduring impression of their time in my classroom\u2013among all of the authors and concepts and projects and words and questions and conversations\u2013was me.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n