“There is no neutral education. Education is either for domestication or for freedom.” – Joao Coutinho
I have been thinking a lot about what it means to teach, what qualities make a good teacher, and how I’ve learned and become the person I am today. From mentors, to books, to experiences… our brain is constantly changing. It’s an ACTIVE, not a passive process. I believe one of the major flaws of our educational system is that it facilitates students becoming too passive, too routine based, and too comfortable with the status quo. I hear parents say “Should we teach this to our kids?” Regardless of what is taught or not taught, a message is constantly being transmitted to the kids. The words we choose and the actions we take have inherent bias. We are molding ourselves and our little ones into the future. For that reason, being keenly aware of who our teachers and leaders are is imperative.
“According to the report, The Learning Curve, developed by the Economist Intelligence Unit, the United States ranks seventeenth out of forty countries ranked in overall educational performance. Finland ranks first. (Jan 6, 2015)”
This is a disgrace! Yet, teachers drill, drill, drill words and facts into heads. They assign copious amounts of homework. They teach to the test. Some schools even suck the fun out of education!
It is through play, creativity, movement, self/body awareness, and practicing decision making that kids learn. We need to be teaching children to be flexible and to solve problems rather than memorize facts. It is the very way of thinking that will help children succeed in a fluid, technological world.
As a pediatric OT, I see how powerful the medium of play can be in promoting a thirst for learning. I love the creativity of my job. I wish that today’s teachers could be a bit more creative rather than being told what to teach. Teaching all kids in the country a “core” seems a bit creepy to me… like nurturing a little 1984 society of robots who all know the same way of thinking when they should really be taught to embrace differences and to explore the world around them with their unique skill set.
What’s more, the role of a teacher is undervalued and not competitive enough to attract the best and brightest. When I hear kids say “I want to be a teacher,” I think “Oh poor thing, I once did, too”. In an ideal world, teaching should be prestigious and well paid. Learning should be what matters, and schools should jump at the opportunity to hire more teachers! Everything isn’t about the money, but for some smart kids creativity and competition count. When poor students can get into education programs and hirings are often based on connections, it doesn’t motivate little valedictorians and salutatorians to become teachers. Of course, teaching is more than just smarts; it’s managing a classroom. Someone who can actually do this job well has my upmost respect. When and if I have kids, I will grill their teachers and potential schools with a plethora of interview questions because you can never be too careful about what you put in your child’s mind.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/randy-turner/a-warning-to-young-people_b_3033304.html
I am so very thankful for my liberal arts education. Thank you to all of my mentors and teachers who actually taught me how to think and not what to think! Thank you Transy for nurturing my curiosity to explore the world rather than conform to or hide behind a role or comfortable position.
As an OT, I am not the “conventional” sort of teacher. Yet, I never want to be “conventional.” I want to encourage people to think about the world in new ways and to break society’s mold with their ideas. Maybe someday those sorts of thinkers will reform society into a world where education is valued more than schooling (“Twain”) and the best and the brightest want to be teachers, where the best and the brightest are valued as teachers, and where the best and brightest are proud to be teachers.
Sunny Day Therapy's Blog- Helping Children & Caregivers Shine, Do, and Thrive 
Leave a comment