Everyone seems to have an opinion on teachers and teaching, from what makes a good/bad teacher, how to teach, what to teach, why teach – the list is endless. Below we explore some of the most common misconceptions and why we believe they’re misconceptions.
Teachers can’t do, that’s why they teach
We hear the statement, “those who can’t do, teach?” all the time. Teachers do so much that it’s hard to believe this statement ever became common place.
Teachers need an in-depth knowledge of their subject and in order to engage their students daily, need to develop many skills, such as;
• adaptive classroom management methods
• have an approach that fosters students’ growth and progress
• provide personalised learning processes
As with all careers a certain set of competencies need to be developed and implemented daily to succeed.
It’s easy being a teacher
It’s easy to see why this is a common misconception. People often think teachers turn up for class at registration, then leave at 3pm and have the summer all to themselves. This is far from the truth.
In actuality, teachers have one of the most emotionally demanding jobs available, they are involved in the lives of their students every day. Teachers care and worry about their students well-being, academic attainment, family and home life, their friends and social lives, and their self confidence.
They invest in their students, dedicating a lot of their personal time honing their skills. The 8am- 3pm workday is fiction, and teachers regularly participate in whole-school activities like curriculum development, prepping lesson plans, marking, parent-teacher consultation and interaction, and after school activities.
Great teachers get great results
Parents and carers often believe teachers to be the only ones responsible for a students’ learning. Teachers are of course an integral part of this, but are definitely not the beginning and end.
Parents play a big role in the learning process, they need to be encouraging at home and show an interest. The biggest factor are the students themselves, if they are not prepared to engage in the subject matter, even if the teacher has delivered on their promise, the student still remains out of the learning process.
Teachers usually have a trick or two they’ll use to engage a disinterested student. A good teacher will attempt to make their lesson plans reflect the students’ interests, in an effort to connect them with the subject material. To further break down any barriers and to peak interest, a teacher should listen and allow students the time to share what is important to them. This element of classroom management becomes more important as our classrooms become more international, students today will often have very different backgrounds, cultures and experiences and will benefit greatly from a personalised approach to their learning process.
We hope the above helps to debunk a few of the myths and misconceptions about teachers and teaching and you enjoyed reading our blog. For more information on Cassidy Education please visit us at www.cassidyeducation.co.uk and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin.
