Is this true? Those who can't do teach.?

Question

People who don't know how to do things teach.

Eg. An arts teacher instead of being an artist is teaching . What a failure.

The same goes for other teachers with other Majors.

Answer 1

How about this one instead:

"You cannot lead, where you do not go....and you cannot teach, what you do not know."

I think this one is actually much more accurate. I am just a homeschooling mother, but I admire the job that most teachers do. There are few of us who could take on with confidence and skill, the responsibility for the futures of other people's children. They frequently work in situations where they are not appreciated enough, not paid very well and are shown disrespect from the very people they have chosen to serve.
They come to the profession not only with a strong base of knowledge, but also devotion to the children and often the glow of creativity and a spirit of innovation to accomplish what they have set out to do. The situations they are placed in seldom take advantage of all they have to offer and instead sets them to mundane tasks and scripted teaching experiences. If they are not shining and impressing the daylights out of their students, it is because they so frequently have to fight to do so. And of those who persist to greatness...it seems to be a constant battle that drains them.
In the homeschooling community there are many, many former teachers who have chosen to quit their jobs and homeschool their children. They loved their work, but frequently speak to their frustrations.

Treasure your experience with these teachers. They can do....and they can do so well......................they can even teach you!

PS to the multitasking poster above. Try nurses! (lol)

And to the asker: My oldest will soon graduate from University with her fine arts degree in Metals and Fibers. Her professors have been few in number, but each a gem and each a brilliant artist in their own right. They have all had numerous gallery shows, one even had her own show this year. Each of them is still capable of sharing that skill and knowledge with their students...brilliantly! Definately not the "failures" you describe.

Answer 2

I have found that some of the best teachers I have had were admittedly 'struggling' students when learning the very material they are now teaching. They were great teachers because they were so sympathetic to other struggling students and were always willing to try a different teaching style. On the other hand, I have had some simply awful teachers who were so knowledgeable in their subject that it was hard for them to understand why a student could not get certain facts. These were brilliant people that simply could not break things down into small pieces of info for the whole class. I prefer the first kind.

Answer 3

I think those that teach know more about their subject matter than most, because it is not until you have to teach something to someone else do you truly understand. And, if it weren't for teachers, you wouldn't have any of those that "do"!

Not to jump on a soapbox, but teachers are the best multitaskers I know! In what other job (besides Motherhood) are you expected to take attendance, sign passes, address the temperature in the classroom, get 30 kids to all sit down and start working silently AND make sure that the hallways are clear all at the same time, collect homework, repeat directions at least five times, address the students who do not have their homework and give the assignment to those that were absent all at the same time?

Answer 4

Well, I think to teach is one of the most important careers that you can have, even though it has not a very high status.

It's a huge responsibility to teach not just a subject but also giving tools for living (values, experiences, advices, etc.) I admire those who do teaching with love, passion, professionalism and responsibility.

However, there are some professionals that do teaching as plan B. maybe they teach because they haven't had what they really want, but those are awful teachers and they don't even deserve to be called like that and I think they do that just for a while.

The good teachers really know how to do things!

Answer 5

Teaching is also called "pedagogy" or the art of teaching. Teaching requires a lot of knowledge about subject matter, psychology, learning styles, and multi-tasking, and interpersonal skills.

For instance, on a typical day: I must teach students how to solve an algebraic equation. First I have to know all about algebra, how and why the answer is what it is. Then I have to know how to get my students attention, hold it, give proper discipline and rewards, and know how to manage my classroom. Several students don't understand, beacause everyone learns differently, so I'll need to break them into groups with different activities for each group focused on the same lesson; ie, some with manipulatives, some with worksheets, ect. Then it's time for a fire drill. The lesson is interrupted and I'll have to keep my students quite and orderly, and then regain their attention and get them focused once again on what they were doing. While students are working in their groups, I am grading papers, handing out bathroom passes, and assesing how well they are learning so that I can plan tomorrow's lesson. Then, I have to call Johnny's mother because he keeps doing headstands in the middle of the hallway during break, and I'd like to kindly suggest that she have her child evaluated.

I'd like to suggest the phrase, "those who don't teach have no idea!"

Answer 6

I think teachers ,including myself, often go from kindergarten all the way thru college and then right into the classroom and sometimes they don't get a proper perspective on the world outside of the classroom but I will say teaching is a gift, when I was 45, I took a year's leave and signed up for 3 classes at our local city college and oh my, I thought anyone could teach, but to get something across and teach it is truly a gift, I never knew that until I had these very very poor college teachers and I dropped all 3 classes by the 2nd day and drove 45 miles to our University.

Answer 7

No, that's not true. I know a lot of my teachers tell me that they could have had a better job & make more money but they didn't enjoy that better job. They wanted to teach instead. They said that teaching was what they wanted to do. Even though being a teacher doesn't make that much money, it was something they enjoyed & they looked forward to everyday.

Answer 8

"Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach."

Yes, I've heard that many times. In addition to points made in other answers, I will some more:

One of the things that not everyone 'can' do is teach. Those who can (teach, that is), do (teach, that is). Of course there are bad teachers. But there are also very good teachers. Thank goodness. There is a sense in which knowledge can be likened to a disease. And teachers are carriers. Thank goodness!

The best teachers are often those who 'did' before they became teachers. They went from writing to teaching writing, from doing mathematics to teaching mathematics, from you-name-it to teaching you-name-it.

And, yes, if you really want to learn something, teach it. After that, perhaps, you will be ready to 'do' it, too. That suggests a circular path:
learn it, do it, teach it, do it better, teach it better...

Answer 9

Before I became a teacher, I knew how to do things, during my time teaching I knew how to do things, and after I finished being a teacher I still know how to do things. So that's a myth. I know managers of restaurant, warehouses, and hotels who don't know their elbow from their......
Don't get me wrong there are some teachers and professors that suck. But the ones that inspire, have the most influence on those that go on to great things.

Answer 10

Let me ask a question to answer your question.

Why are you trying to get answers to a generalization?

Then... unless there were research done with a meaningful population with meaningful and relative questions relating to the above generalization, the data properly taken with proper controls, and the results properly interpreted, it's everyone's opinion and prejudice. Very often you get more answers that include other generalizations, making it extremely confusing and unscientific.

I would suggest that if you really want to know and prove or disprove the above generalization, you should design and conduct a research to find that answer, not ask on the Internet.