Is the saying "Those who can, do; those who can't, teach" true?

Question

I'm surrounded by teachers. My side of the family has produced a lot of teachers and my wife's side of the family has produced a lot of teachers - and none of them seem qualified, well-suited or mentally capable/stable to teach - and yet they're all in classrooms. It feels as though they're all just hidding out, passing time or too lazy to find what really interests them in life. I'm wondering if this is the primary reason our educational system is in such disarray.
And yes, all my relatives who are teachers are paid well and no I don't hate teachers and yes I did well in school. It's just that I have two kids in school and it scares the daylights out of me.

Answer 1

Wow. One of my pet peeves. I went to school in the worst school in the City at the time; most teachers were teaching to avoid the draft (Viet Nam era). The truth, however, about the high level of incompetent teachers is astounding! I meet so many teachers today that can't speak Standard American English or can't say two sentences without two or three, "You know? You know?" and I'm most certain they cannot pass the same government exams required of the students. But, getting rid of these deadbeats is impossible due to the unions that have ruined the teaching profession. Today's teachers are not educators; they cannot inspire learning and cannot figure out why a particular student has difficulty learning something (or just don't care). The standards have been lowered to the point where it has become a national problem, and our kids graduate as functional illiterates where they can't even complete a job application! WHAT is wrong here? Now, our children cannot be left behind even if they don't know enough to pass? Or, they're trained just to pass exams? We now have a situation where the neediest schools receive the least funding and teachers are often required to buy their own supplies on their own time and with their own money... because the better schools where the middle class students live and attend are getting the extra funding to be squandered by the supervisory staff!

The wrong people are going into the educational field.

I took my daughter out of public school when I heard one teacher say, "After I had went to them people and done spoke to them, they kids still don't behave and they still don't do nothing" and another teacher who told me, "I don't gotta learn no English, all I gotta know is maFF." Right now, for example, there are more than 100 teachers, Assistant Principles and Principles that are sitting around in an empty school building day in and day out since no school wants to hire them because of their gross incompetence, ineptitude and malfeasance but the Department of Education must pay out over $1 million dollars to pay these individuals they cannot fire!

How about the many graduate level students that come to me to coach and I must turn them down because they cannot compose a grammatically correct paragraph of four sentences?

By the way, I was a full-time honor student in both majors in college, working full-time hours and teaching classes at the college while an undergraduate at the same college! I'm not a genius; I was just a "dumb gym teacher."

You certainly do have reason to be concerned about the kind of education your children are receiving. The wrong people are getting into the educational field... the least qualified!

Answer 2

I do not believe it to be true... Those who CAN, teach!

Teaching is not something everyone can do. Its true that it is brilliant to be a professor or a businessman or anything big and high ranked but would they be there if they had not had teachers. Sometimes teachers are underestimated for having so many school vacations by comparison with other professions, but really and truely the hidden part of the job is hardly ever taken into consideration. Much time and energy is taken up in the construction of a homely environment in the classroom which is conducive to learning. A lot of effort is placed into maintaining good relationships with the students as well as between the students on a day to day basis. Interactions with families are not always easy, and where students are experiencing diffuculties in the home environment, it is often after-school-time that is taken up from the teacher to help resolve the situation. Handouts, schedules, schemes of work, records of work, updated attendance sheets, tests and corrections all take up a lot of time. True the material may not be particularly difficult but seeing the same thing over and over again written by the different students in the classroom can be very tedious and requires a lot of dedication to actually complete the task. If the job of the teacher looks easy, then you were lucky enough to have some darn good teachers around who could hide the stress which really exists on the job.

Answer 3

How does anyone learn anything? Not solely by doing but by informed instruction.It would be be simplistic to blame all the ills of the educational system on the teachers.Parents are the first teachers a child has and let me be kind and just say that some parents teach their children life skills better than others and prepare them for school.Some children enter school and the parent hasn't even taught the child his last name ,phone numger or address.Basic skills like colours and numbers are expected to be known.Not all parents and not all children .Some teachers have a passion to teach and thus are better teachers.What about parents who are too "busy" to attend the parent teacher meetings, to "busy" to supervise and make sure homework is completed, make sure the child is given positive support at home. What about the child who goes to school hungry or tired?What about sick children sent to school rather than the parent taking the day off work? What about students who have learning difficulties but the parent refuses to have their child assessed so the child can have an I.E..P (individual learning plan)set up to help the child learn at their level.Let's not forget to acknowledge that learning is an on going process and is a joint effort between child,parent and teachers. Do not further tie the teachers hands by undermining the teacher, work together for your childs education.

Answer 4

I don't think that's true at all. If you can't "do" then how can you expect to properly teach?

That saying is one of my pet peeves. I am surrounded by teachers who care about their students and sincerely believe they are making a difference each day. That is why I am going to school to be a teacher. I'm not doing it because I'm not successful in the "real world." I am very successful, actually. But I don't want to be a financial aid advisor all my life. I've always wanted to teach and feel that I have the drive and desire to teach.

I am very sorry that you have poor examples of teachers that surround you. Not all teachers are like that. Think back to when you were in school - what teachers inspired you to go above and beyond what was expected? What teachers pushed you to be better than what you were? Think of those teachers - would you say that saying applies to them? I doubt it.

It is true that there are some teachers who are in the field for the summer breaks and the pay. My first education teacher once said this, and I think it certainly holds true:

"If you are going into teaching for the time off over the summer, walk right out of this class. If you think that teaching is an easy career, then get out. If you think that everything is gonna be hunky dory and you'll get to pat them on the head and send them off without giving a flying f**k about who they are and where they come from, then go get a refund right now and don't waste our time.

Teaching is something that gets inside of you, rips out your heart one minute and makes it soar the next. It is what drives us to be better than what people expect us to be. It is what keeps a kid out of trouble sometimes when he sees that he can do algebra or write an essay or compose a poem. It is what makes this world a better place. But if you think it's going to be easy, think again. You will have angry, a**hole parents who think you're an idiot because little Johnny can't diagram a sentence and is failing English. You will have punk kids who think they're smarter than you and challenge you at every step. But you have to be vigilant and TEACH. You have to make this your passion in life. Anything less and you're wasting your time and their time."

Instead of bashing teachers, why not take an education course or volunteer at a local school. I can almost guarantee you that you will find at least one teacher who really gives a damn about their students and their job. Perhaps they'll change your mind. I hope they do.

Answer 5

Aww man that saying always scared the crap out of me, especially in college. I remember when I heard it for the first time and then I heard it like five more times in the same week. I was horrified, convinced I was getting a s&!# education.

I really don't think there's any tried and true merit though to that statement. Sorry to hear you're surrounded by so many people like that! I think honestly it's just a coincidence that they're teachers and lazy, hiding out, etc. All kinds of people do that from all walks of life. And my sister-in-law is a teacher, she's wonderful! She's not lazy at all, and chose conscientuosly to do this with her life.

For your two children, stay involved in their education. Go to parent/teacher conferences, meet who it is that's teaching your kids. Go to school open house functions, anything you can to get to know the school system and the people as best you can. That way, if you DO have anything to be afraid of, you'll know, and you can do something about it.

Answer 6

Well, I am a teacher, and I could have chosen any profession in the world. I chose teaching for the love of it. It makes my day to see a child's face light up when they finally reach that moment of understanding. I wouldn't give it up for the world.

Also, as a mother, it is the best job in the world. I am home with my kids every afternoon, every holiday, and in the summer. I am up to date on the school system and can help them when they need it.

Some may go the route you have mentioned, but there really are some hard-working dedicated teachers out there. Also, keep this in mind, more people would stop choosing other professions and take teaching more seriously, if teachers were paid more. (In my county, a beginning teacher only makes around $30,000 a year.)

Anyone that thinks teaching is a cop-out.........try it one day. Or just sit and observe. It is not the cake job you make it out to be.

Answer 7

i too am surrounded by teachers in my place of work-a school. i am here out of choice.as a student i never ever considered teaching kids day in and out.i felt i didn't have the patience for it. now i know I've found my niche.i was a good student, but at the same time i am considered a good teacher. as i work in a voluntary capacity as remedial educator, i am required to teach any subject my children have a difficulty with. so now i have to keep abreast with literature and science, my hobby and subject as also maths, and social and civics and current affairs and languages and psychology.in short anything that might strike the interest of any of the nearly 50 students from class 1 -12. i read a lot more now and try to slot it all into my memory. i now understand their particular difficulty in learning. i deal with the hopes and aspirations of children and their parents and strive to tone them up or down to make them realistic. i am more empathetic and this is a trait i share with more than 70% of the teachers i meet daily. so rest assured the teachers will not harm your children but you might.

Answer 8

I found the statement to be true the higher up I went in school. People who are trained in a profession are generally paid better as a professional than as a teacher. The exception I found was a few retired people who were teaching to stay busy.

Education is your responsibility. Don't expect someone else to care whether you or your kids learn. That is one of the reasons homeschooling has become popular, parents just got sick of their kids not learning.

Answer 9

I don't know where you live, but I can say that there is a huge difference in the quality of education one will receive based on geographic location. I took great offense to the blanket statements that teachers are losers. What an emotionally lazy way to approach such an important issue. I know there are bad teachers. But there are also bad lawyers, bad doctors, bad cooks...c'mon! I now live in the Midwest so that my own children will have the best education possible, unlike the one I received in TX. I also teach 3rd grade and, for the record, have spent the last 4 hours researching recent research on child development and learning in an attempt to help a student of mine who has a complicated disability. I also spent time this afternoon appealing to the university here for volunteer interpreters to help translate materials for my Hmong students, since recent budget cuts have basically stolen the opportunity to learn from my non-English speaking students. I drove a crying little girl home on Tuesday. And throughout the year base my practice on the premise that these are future adults. I have a proven record for raising the reading and writing levels of every student beyond anyone's expectations. How do I do this? I carefully and thoroughly study each student's strengths and weaknesses and differentiate each piece of learning for every child. I educate them, not only on the academic components, but the social components as well. I teach them how to look people in the eye when speaking to them, how to say "Please" and "thank you", the difference between an "I'm sorry" and a sincere apology followed by a change in behavior, how to become involved in their community, how to undo the devastating effects of a world that counts on seeing them not succeed...I am saddened by the answers offered so far. None of them seem to provide an actual solution to your dilemma. My two cents is, research educational opportunities outside your community if you feel your child is not receiving the absolute best education possible. Find out what the learning standards are for your child's grade level and compare them to neighboring cities and even states. Perhaps moving is the only solution. The last thing your child needs is for people to give up on the public school system. Our country must realize that it takes EVERYONE'S effort to improve schools. There is absolutely no excuse for any child receiving a poor education.
I am sorry your image of teachers has been stained by your personal knowledge of your family of teachers. There are many, many well-suited, qualified, ambitious teachers out there whose honest passion is creating capable, responsible and well prepared adults. Also, I would caution you on judging your family member's job performance on their behavior at home, with family. Isn't it safe to say quirky traits seem to become symptomatic when we're around our families. They drive us nuts, do they not? They bring out the best and worst in us at times. Some people choose careers based on what they think will please their families rather than their true passions. This can only lead to disaster. Could this be the case with your family?
Finally, and perhaps my most helpful response is, "How can I help?" Again, simply complaining and spewing false information is intellectual sloth. "Those who can, do. Those who can't, just gripe about it."

Answer 10

it's not true. my stepdad is a low paid teacher and has been passionate about his work for 30 years. i was an educator in my field and was so frustrated by thoughtless mistakes made by coworkers and other peers in the field so as a speecialist i wanted to spread the thought. there are some people in any field that aren't passionate about what they do. i didn't have good teachers till my senior year in hs, and when i found them they made a difference. this saying is true however: you get out of it what you put into it. help your kids by instilling a passion for learning and don't depend on teachers. your kids will excell in everything if they have a passion for knowledge and the seeking of it, and will be waaaaaaaaay ahead of their game.