Would you agree that the best teachers are not necessarily the best students?

Question

It always seems to me that very good students don't know how to explain things to poorer students (I am myself quite a good student, and find myself often unable to understand the problems other students have). Therefore, doesn't this mean that to be a good teacher, you have to understand how the poorer students learn?

Answer 1

I was a teacher trainer for a long time and yes, teachers are not the best students. The reason is that when they come into a class as students, they feel a loss of control that they are accustomed to. This leads to a lot of challenges on opinions and other generalized friction between the teacher and the "students" and it's a territorial issue.....Having said that, the second part of your question/statement is a different issue...One of the most difficult processes for anyone, is how to give good explanations and instructions. One of the reasons is that "WE" know what we think and want to say and we assume that the students understand and so we create short-cuts in explanations. We do this sub-consciously and we think that we explained it well and are surprised when the students are confused...One of the major assignments (in-class and home) I gave my students (teachers) is to begin writing instructions for the simplest daily actions ie. making tea/coffee, how to...and so on. It was always revelatory to them how many "steps" they left out because they assumed that it wasn't necessary (doesn't everyone know that???)..as they got better, they progressed to more complex explanations and how to give them simply and accurately. So it's not a matter of bright and poor students, it's a matter of learning how to explain, and it's not automatic it's learned. Hope this answers your questions

Answer 2

In the way you worded your question, I agree, the best teachers are "not necessarily" the best students. However, to understand how the poorer students learn, one does not have to be a poorer student.
Since you said "not necessarily", I can not disagree, as long as the teacher has a good knowledge and understanding of the subject matter and an understanding of how students learn. - I'm a teacher.
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Answer 3

As a teacher for 12 years and as an administrator for 16 years, I can tell you that some of the best teachers are people who had their troubles in school when they were students. I think that this is because they understand what it is like to "not get it" the first time. They tend to be more sympathetic. Many of them also learned that they must break the material down a bit in order to make it easier. They tend to pass that skill onto the students.

Let me put it another way (if you are into sports). Some of the greatest coaches in professional sports were not exactly super stars when they played (for example, Phil Jackson, Pat Riley, Tommy Lasorda and Tony LaRussa), but yet, they are or were great coaches.

Answer 4

I'm in 100% agreement.
Poachers make the best gamekeepers, Crooks make the best Cops. (with oversight of course!).

Teaching isn't about being an expert in the material, it's about getting that material into a student. Teachers should encourage learning but not necessarily be learned themselves (but it obviously helps).
The adage that those that can do and those that cannot teach, may well be true. However a less than expert but enthusiastic teacher does far more good than a dry lecturer.
How many people owe their careers or hobbies to primary or high-school teacher, rather than their Uni. lecturers.

Answer 5

You most certainly do have to understand how everyone learns. Obviously as a teacher, you have to be a good learner. But not a selfish one. You have to be able to think outside the box and to be able to put yourself into another persons position to some extent.

There are many different modalities through which people learn, and there are a number of different things that can affect their learning (google "Maslow's hierarchy of needs" to get you started).

That said, whenever I have been with teaching colleagues on an in-service training, they make appalling students. They mess around, fidget, get bored and fail to pay attention to what is happening.

Answer 6

I think that if the "good student" was in fact good, they should have mastered the topic being taught/learned to the point that it's easy to explain to someone who might not understand right away. I think the best teachers are the best students who understand. Some students can be "good" and get good grades and things, but when it comes to answering, "Why?" they're stuck. They're not so great anymore, are they?

Answer 7

From the point of view of a teacher i can assure you that teachers tend to be horrible students to teach, myself included.

Answer 8

No the best teachers just have to be nice and kind and smart of course they do not have to be perfect

Answer 9

true... i am also a good student ( straight A's), but in math when we sit in groups i have a horrible time explaing how to do the stuff to the people i'm sitting with...

Answer 10

not really its just the way your mind works and how you learn.