Why look for the expert in the room?: Teachers - The "Jack of all trades"
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Have you ever heard the saying, “Those who can, do. Those who cannot teach”? This was a line from the 1903 play called “Man and Superman” by Bernard Shaw. It is a saying that has transcended time and is often used to trivialize the value of teaching. I first heard it a long time ago but I really didn’t think much about it until I become a teacher. The phrase had been thrown at me by a friend at a party as a joke. I outwardly laughed and played along with the joke but inside I was quite upset. Is that what people really think of teachers? Is there such little respect for what teachers do? Over the course of my 15 year career I have seen a great deal of evidence to show that in fact, many people do unfortunately think this statement to be true. I have even had some of the people closest to me in my life speak about teaching in a way that disparages the whole profession. Well, they couldn’t be farther from the truth.
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To say that only people that can do something are going to work in a particular field is a nieve thing to say. Yes, there are certainly “experts” out there and these people might choose to work and excel in that area of expertise. However, there is no commandment that states that this “will” or “must” happen. In fact, there are many occasions where people who have an expertise in one area chose to do something completely different. There are people who are experts in a particular area that choose to teach because education is something they are passionate about. They may or may not teach in their area of expertise but they teach because they enjoy it. Then there are those who may not be experts in any particular area but have the ability to teach and learn. Having the ability to learn is essential to being able to teach. Teachers are constantly having to learn now content, teaching strategies and classroom management skills. A better way to think about this might be to consider the difference between a Specialist and a Generalist.
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Generalist VS Specialist
A generalist states a generalist is “a person who knows something about a lot of subjects”. A specialist is defined as “a person who has special knowledge and skill relating to a particular job, the area of study”.
Therefore, generalists are the “jacks of all trade” – they have an understanding of a wide range of things. They might be able to solve your computer problem while also programming you a handy little app. On the other hand, specialists are the experts in their specific field. Whilst a specialist might not be able to know how to find the best employees for your business, they can draw up the best employment contracts as a seasoned employment lawyer.
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History is filled with the names of people who instead of settling into a role as an expert and sticking to one field, decided to expand their working to several different areas.
Yet, many of the most impactful individuals — both contemporary and historical — have been generalists: Elon Musk, Steve Jobs, Arianna Huffington, Ben Franklin, Leonardo Da Vinci, and Marie Curie.
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You may recognize some of the names. Can you imagine if these people had just stuck to one single path and never expanded their knowledge base? There are many other people who could be added to that list but that is not the topic at hand here.
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I prefer to think of teachers as Generalist who may or may not have a specific expertise but have the incredible ability to learn. They can adapt to their ever-changing environment with ease and find new and meaningful ways to bring education to children all the time. Teachers are resilient creatures who are able to shapeshift at a moments notice. They possess a passion for teaching that gives them the fuel to get up in front of children every day and deliver lessons that will prepare students for their future. They are content providers, character builders, family supporters, counsellors and actors all wrapped up in one. A teacher does not just teach. A teacher wears a multitude of different hats each and every day.
There are also the times when a teacher is not only asked to teach something they may not know well but they might also be uncomfortable with the content. As an elementary teacher, you quickly learn that you are responsible for teaching the majority of the subject area to your students. This changes a little as you get into middle school and high school where your teaching subjects might be a little more specific.
Growing up I was never all that good at art. To be perfectly honest, I hated art. It was something that I had no interest in and as soon as I had the option to choose my own course I was done with art. To teach art in class was something that stressed me out from the very beginning. How was I going to teach something that I knew so little about and did not enjoy myself? I had to make a mental shift when it comes to art. I made a commitment to myself to try to engage in art. I took an art class for fun and attended a workshop on teaching art. I forced myself to “try”. I mean, how could I expect my students to try if I was unwilling to try. It took some time but I became more comfortable teaching art over the years and now it is one of my favourite subjects to teach. Especially with my grade 8’s. It is so much fun to see what they are capable of doing after you have taught them a concept. They can be so creative. The following is an example of a student's work this year.
Next time you hear someone say that teachers only teach because they can’t do anything well, remember all that goes into being a teacher. Ask them how many things the can actually do. Do they know the difference between a Specialist and a Generalist? Have they ever heard of Thomas Edison or Steve Jobs? Or You can do what we have been doing for ages and take the high road. Politely smile and walk away with the wisdom that they could only wish to have half the skills it takes to do a teachers job each and every day.
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Our teachers here are walking out, and demanding higher pay. I feel that this takes out a lot of qualified people, for the fact they can make more money somewhere else. Leaving us sometimes with people who do not care that much. What do you think?
I think that teacher pay has been an issue for a very long time. I have seen many people leave the profession over the years because they are able to make more money in a different job and in many cases, there is a lot less stress in those new jobs. It is very unfortunate because some of these people are fantastic educators. The problem is that there are so many people that don't regard teachers very highly. Not many people see or understand all that goes into teaching and therefore the respect for teachers is not all that high at times. As long as teachers are not being compensated properly we will continue to lose great people. The sad thing is there are teachers (I have worked with some) who are going through the motions and might not care as much as we would like. This is frustrating and losing good people amplifies the issue. I would have to say that though that the disenchanted worker can be found in every profession but when is someone responsible for educating our kids and the leaders of tomorrow it is so much worse.
Sweet. Never new where that phrase came from.
As an aspiring teacher, I definitely have to disagree with it though ^_^
I know exactly who should be running the country but they're too busy teaching!
The respect pendulum for teachers is swung over to no-respect but with recent events I see the pendulum swinging to more respect.
Remember the ultimate purpose of education is to teach people the skill of learning.
Agreed!!! I often will tell parents not to worry so much about specific subjects on the report cards but rather to focus on the learning skills. Th goal is to create strong learners who demonstrate good character and are good citizens.
We have many different types of people in one group, in this case, a teachers group. To make a statement about teachers and put them all in the same basket is kinda funny to me.
We are individuals, and if you don't look at people this way, you will be wrong most of the times.
This saying, in my opinion, is one of that old saying that we're told when we were young. The only difference why some statements are still in use is that some people think deeply about it and some just accept it because it sounds good. And because of second ones, you can still hear people saying this funny words.
Role of the teacher is one of the hardest in life. You need to know A LOT about morals, about human relationships, emotions, reactions, yourself,... It is a privilege to be accepted as a teacher by anybody, whether if you're a school teacher or you teaching something to your friends, brother, sisters,...
Funny thing, what you did with art, I did on Steemit with a 100-day poetry challenge. I never learned, read or wrote poetry! Now, I'm on the day 36, I never skipped a day and I was 2-3 times a daily beginner winner and a weekly beginner winner...
If you told me about this 2 months ago, I would not even listen to you...haha
Anyway, best of luck with your teachings, it's a job or a way of life that I really admire.
Much love, Luka.
Thanks so much for the thoughtful response. It is true that these kids of statements or saying get passed down over time and many people don’t even realize what they are saying. There are still however, some people who think very little of the profession. I can even remember being called a glorified babysitter once. Lol Ahhhh Ignorance.
Ah, you know the People. I was not also aware of the importance of the teachers in high school, you know those crazy days :D But, as I got older it started to be something that I really think about a lot. It's in everyday life...
Love this post firstly because as a teacher I can relate and secondly I agree - now the rest of the world must just wake up and understand the job of a teacher - parents are happy when the holiday is over, so they must understand how it must be for us to not just deal with one or two kids - thanks for this post - resteeming
Yeah, there needs to be a paradigm shift in the way people perceive teachers. Many are caught up in the summer holidays and can't look past that to see what is happening every day in the classroom.
Being a teacher is one of the most difficult professions that exist, a teacher not only comes to a classroom to teach a class and then go home, a teacher must be multifacetic, must be present and handle different fields in both education As in the personal life of their students, literally between the teachers and their parents are the ones who form the person who will become that child, so we must day-to-day nourish ourselves in all possible fields, learn, inform, update and go hand in hand with the advances and teaching strategies, so the job of being a MASTER is one of the most admirable I know. Greetings @broncofan99 I loved your article, thanks for sharing and I invite you to visit my blog!
I find teaching is a job that is so hard to not take home with you. You are dealing with kids and the responsibility is so high and we want them to do well. Not every day is as easy a people think. Sometimes behaviour management takes up more time than actual teaching.