We talked for a bit Tuesday about teaching as improvisation. I think this highlights two things about teaching that I think could be interesting to discuss. Does thinking of teaching as an improvisational art 1) employ an art to teaching that can be improved, like that of a musician's and 2) entail some degree of natural talent?
Obviously, teaching in this sense can be improved at intervals, but if it is like this art, then is it likely that some people are or could be better teachers than others?
I am a little dubious of any claim that there is a necessity for natural talent in teaching. This is primarily because I am not sure what we could do to actually find out whether or not this is the case. Practically, it seems to be an unhelpful observation. The comparison to the art in terms of improvement and practice, however, seems to be an important and insightful observation. I imagine that if more educators viewed their vocation as an art, students would be far better off. This would reduce the stagnation that I imagine happens within the rather mysterious process of educating in which a teacher simply goes through the motions with a new set of students each year. Astute observation!
ReplyDeleteI believe there are certainly people who are more naturally inclined to effectively teach than others. Perhaps if the vocation was more highly valued by our society in terms of prestige and compensation more people would want to be educated to go into education. Unfortunately, I think many shy away because they know it's a difficult profession with low pay in most cases for the amount of education required. In many ways, it seems to already be treated as an improvisational profession in that those who decide to pursue it (like the arts) need to have a passion to do so and a desire to continually improve their craft!
ReplyDeleteI think that Deven is onto something really important here that Matt has commented on throughout the course: viewing teaching as an art form rather than a job and trying to improve in all ways you can to be the most effective teacher.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I think makes teaching very interesting is that it is serving to individuals rather than entire groups, and by this I mean that teaching is a relationship between individuals and their teacher. So perhaps teaching should be treated as more of an art form and seen as something that can be improved and innovated; maybe what change needs to be done is how people view education and it should be upheld as an art that has immense value.
Agreed. Thinking of teaching as an art form would also give teachers more autonomy. Art forms and artists, and their work are generally regarded as valuable even when (and perhaps more so) they deviate from the status quo. If we rewarded creativity and originality, while at the same time creating a rich amount of literature about methods (think of art critics) than perhaps teaching would not only gain greater status, but how administrators treated teachers would change as well.
ReplyDeleteThroughout the semester we have discussed the difference between one having avast knowledge within a certain discipline, and being able to teach this information they hold to others. At this point, I think there is a distinct difference between becoming an expert within a certain field of study and teaching. I agree that education is somewhat of an art form that can always be improved, and I think that most great educators are always looking at their methods and finding what works and what doesn't. I also have to say that I disagree with Deven on the other point of natural talent and teaching. I actually believe that there are some people who are naturally more fit to educate than others. Obviously, one can always improve at a craft they are passionate for, but if we are to stay consistent with the idea that teaching is somewhat of an art form then I would think that there has to be those more fit than others. I agree that as Deven said there are not ways to find out if this is the case or not, but just from what I have observed over the years and having parents and grandparents who are teachers it seems as though just like in visual art, music, sports, and anything else that we view as artistic and talent oriented in our society that teaching and educating others falls in that same category. There are some teachers who I have had over the years who are so inspiring and as a student I can tell they are meant to be there because it is their passion. This is again however, pure observation.
ReplyDeleteInteresting thought -- that we could evaluate teachers the way we evaluate artists! Some difficulties there, but at least it's a different approach.
ReplyDeleteThis whole conversation brings to mind Gilbert Highet's classic book The Art of Teaching, which would make great bedtime reading over break for anyone looking for a capstone to the course.