Why do teacher's teach you false things?

Question

I once had a teacher tell me that the rain forests don't regrow, HOW WRONG WAS HE! I had the same guy teach me that the sky is blue because it's the atmosphear reflecting the ocean, WELL HE WAS WRONG ABOUT THAT ALSO! I had ANOTHER teacher tell me that baby girls come from trees, WAS SHE WRONG!!! I had another teacher tell me that atoms were compact things, with no space inbetween, HELLO ATOMS ARE MOSTLY EMPTY SPACE!

Why is the school system so flawed and why don't the teachers know what they're teaching?

They also don't tell you enough information, In 7th grade we learned about the atom, and guess what? We only learned how many electrons are in each element. No wonder Japan is smater then us!

Answer 1

Where I live, K-7 teachers major in pedagogy, while 8-12 teachers get a degree in their field followed by an Education degree. I think this is very questionable, because it's those K-7 students who are always asking, "Why?" and it's their teachers who don't necessarily have the knowledge to answer their questions. Sometimes, teachers who are put on the spot would rather tell a lie than admit they don't know the answer. When I trained as an ESL teacher, we were ALWAYS taught to be honest with the students that we didn't know the answer to their question, and then come back to them with the information the next day.

I had a Grade 5 teacher who asked the class, "If June 21st is the longest day of the year, why are July and August hotter than June?" We didn't know. His answer? "Because it has to get hotter before it can get colder."

I'm twenty-two years old and I'll never forget hearing him say that. Kids deserve better than blatant lies.

Answer 2

Sorry about that. Unfortunately, many of us aren't very good at what we do. Educators, I mean...K-16, that is. You sound like a student who actually wants to learn something, unlike many of those we see in secondary. Those who responded by saying that teachers major in pedagogy are not totally correct. Many of us actually majored in our teaching field and obtained teaching certification after that. Many of us furthered our knowledge by getting our master's, even though we receive little monetary compensation for it. Many of us have post-graduate hours only to help us become better teachers. Just because you are knowledgeable about something does NOT mean that you will be able to teach it, hence the classes in pedagogy and instruction, which, by the way, college instructors are not required to have. So, while your experience in K-12 didn't inspire you or adequately prepare you for college, what you'll find when you get to college is there are many many brilliant people there who haven't a clue about how to teach you, nor do they care if you learn. Ultimately, the act of becoming 'educated' rests entirely upon your shoulders. From your comments, I assume you are on a quest for knowledge, so you will do well in college. As far as baby girls coming from trees....hmmmm...must have been a technology teacher who told you that OR perhaps it was a metaphor...OR perhaps an answer to an ill-timed or inappropriate question...

Answer 3

Well, I don't know the answer to your question...I'm a high school student in the American school system...I do think American citizens have the potential to learn more and obtain more knowledge at lower grades...I had a 5th grade teacher that told us there were such things as Fact Opinions and just regular opinions...Then, I did poorly in her class because of all of the nonsense she was teaching us...The same thing goes for me like in 7th grade with the atom thing, only learning about electrons. I have high school counselors lie to me all the time. I needed a reading list for this assignment I have to do over the summer so I ask her about it and go up to school in my free time and she said she'd call me back the next day even if she didn't have the information...So, I didn't hear back from her, so I had to go back to my school this summer and she told me just what I had told her last...These counselors also tell me certain courses are mandatory when they aren't...I'm intelligent and all of the counselors said I had to take these courses, one of which being Freshman Connections where you learn about what career you would like to pursue...Well, I had other interests in classes I wanted to take...When I found out she was lying to me, I confronted her and she told me a different story...It has gone on through every grade and I can't stand it.

Answer 4

well by you saying that "teachers don't know what they're teaching" isn't a perfect observation. Not all teachers mess up so badly. Then again i know of some i wish i never met because i was more and more confused with what they would teach. not all people have the capacity to teach and some "teachers" can't teach. emphasis on the some, some can.

Answer 5

Because teachers have to get a degree in pedagogy, that is, in learning how to communicate with students--a Master's in Education.

They don't have to have a degree in any field.

Which is why so many K-12 teachers are complete idiots.

Not all, not most, but enough to ruin the reputation for all of them.

I lecture at the college level, mainly freshmen, and the first day of class I tell them that they learned absolutely nothing in high school--and that it's not their fault.

Primary and secondary schools are institutions made to mold good citizens, not thinkers, not knowers.

Answer 6

They're human too you know. School boards use inexperienced and untrained teachers to teach subjects they know nothing because it's cheap. You've had luck so far let me tell you. In grade 10 my Christian Religion teacher tried to explain the life of Moses using the cancer causing ingredients of McDonald's' food. And in grade 7 my science teacher thought living things DID NOT CONTAIN ATOMS BECAUSE THEY CONTAINED CELLS. So, as you see your teachers could have been worse. Remember, schools are mostly a complicated day care centre. Learning starts in university.

Answer 7

First of all, teachers teach what they know. Back before Columbus, teachers taught students that the earth was flat. At one time, it was believed that rainorests don't grow back.

Second. Teacers don't intend on teachin things wrong.

Third - Teachers are human too!!! We make mistakes. We're not perfect. Deal!!!

Answer 8

It is an unfortunate truth that more than half of all public schoolteachers are required to teach subjects they did not major in in college. Hence you have teachers who barely got through first year algebra trying to teach calculus, teachers who specialized in languages trying to teach chemestry, teachers who took their degrees in physical education having to teach English and journalism (as did my journalism teacher way back when - Mr. Ed Boykin was our head football coach and never studied English either - and he was required to teach Senior English).
The reasons for this are both political and economic. Teachers are among the worst paid professionals in the country - nurses are the other such group - and far too many school boards are made up of people who barely graduated high school themselves, but who direct what is to be taught their children in their local schools. It's profoundly ignorant and wildly fundamentalist parents who rant and rail about evolution being taught in science classes, not teachers.
Too many politicans are afraid to give the schools enough money to do their jobs because to do that, they have to tax the citizenry. Too many jerks (I really do have a few much choicer names for them!) think "If ya can't afford a football team, eliminate music" Or "If ya can't afford the funds needed for computers in class, cut out history and civics classes - nobody cares what happened a hunnert years ago!"
So what do you expect when this is the usual state of affairs across the country? Teachers being told what to teach, what not to teach, told to teach subjects they themselves don't understand, and paid peanuts to boot? To be perfectly honest, it's almost a miracle that our public school system hasn't totally collapsed. Yet. But..."Soon, my darlings, soon! ...Wicked Witch of the West.

Answer 9

the problem is cumpulsery education in a government institution it's job is to produce "educated" citizens" not people who ask questions.
if schools where funded based on the quality of the product they produced teachers could be paid what they are worth good or bad>
here's a radical Idea teachers get 1% of there students future earnings hows that for incintive a teacher paid by the product they produce and every parent searching for the best teachers.

Answer 10

Stay in school, go to college, get a degree, and become a teacher in order to change the system.