Revisiting ‘The Case Against Teaching’: A Confession

I really hate teaching, and I hate baby talk. Until I wrote yesterday’s post I never realized how much I hate teaching. I’ve suspected it, mind you, but I’ve never confronted it like I am now.

But I do love learning. I love it a lot. I love sharing my learning with others, and I love sharing in the learning of others.

I’m fascinated by the contexts Spence used for learning Chemistry. What were they?

~       the relationships with his friend Billy, his teacher, and ???

~       physical contexts including the basement, the library, the furnace room, the classroom, and ???

~       time and freedom to experiment, though still within a safe range

~       and ???—Are there other contexts in Spence’s article that caught your attention?

Another reason I’m currently confronting how much I hate teaching has been a growing frustration with the English classes our family teaches here in our home in China. We’re almost to the end of our first 8 week, bi-weekly group class for 6 - 9 year olds. I love these kids, but I’m still trying to decide, or rather, gear myself up for another 8 weeks. The question foremost in my mind is, “How can I optimize a context that facilitates learning and loving English?” Included in that context is fulfilling the expectations of Chinese parents who, first of all pay for the classes, and secondly, know mostly “that teaching is telling, learning is absorbing, and knowledge is subject-matter content.” There are no easy answers to this one, but it’s an example of the type of shift that needs to be made in Education.

Another example of this shift away from the dreaded ‘teaching’ can be found in a recent article by Oliver and Rachel DeMille entitled, “5 Things Effective TJEd Families Never Say”. I’ve read enough from the DeMille naysayers to feel vindicated as well as inspired by their no-nonsense answer to “the 5 things we’ve learned that…

Effective TJEders don’t say:

• “The TJEd system is strong on educational philosophy, but it doesn’t really help with application.”
• “TJEd is good for literature and history, but not math or science.”
• “TJEd seems great, but how do you actually do it?”
• “If I don’t force and require my child to study, won’t he just do nothing?”
• “I read classics in high school and college, so right now I want to just focus on the kids’ education.””

The history of ethics teaches that the most determined hostility against the best is the good, not the bad. Henry Ketcham, The Life of Abraham Lincoln

While I’m perfectly aware that all of us are human and no model, system, philosophy, or otherwise is going to meet everyone’s needs, I honestly believe that the reason so many struggle with the Thomas Jefferson Education philosophy and educational applications can be found in our struggle as a society to learn, "It's not the teaching, it's the learning, stupid."

The answer is simple and yet so profound: Become a Prime Learner by reading classics. “Those who have read 10 classics in the last year, 5 great math and science classics, 4 classics aloud with the kids, and 7 classics with a specific mentee in mind, etc., rarely ask such questions—because they don’t typically have these problems or concerns. . . . TJEd works when we do TJEd. TJEd works when we—as parents and teachers—read classics and share what we learn. TJEd works when we are studying the classics, and then passionately passing on what we’ve studied. If we don’t actually do TJEd, it doesn’t really work that well. . . . Fortunately, the great classics are on the shelves! We only have to pick them up and go to work… That feeling of “secure, not stressed,” that makes us feel like our education is flourishing—because it is—is just 20 minutes away. And it is so fun. So grab a classic, find a couch, and get that feeling of success flowing!”

The concept of a Classic needs another blog post, but I’m excited to let go of my need to be a Teacher and just be an inspired-by-classics Prime Learner. Does anyone have any suggestions of classics that would assist us in teaching English here in China? (BTW, sharing religious texts here in China is against the law, so those classics will only be able to inspire me.)

And I’ll second this from the DeMilles: You have permission to read a book.

I really do believe that’s the very best cure for teaching.

~vbb

An Introduction

Today, I'd like to start a new blog about education. My own inquiries into education began long ago. This post gives only a review of my most recent study of education. My goal with this blog is to explore Education in our homes, our communities, and our world, in ANY educational venue, from the perspective of the Learner as truly the driving force in all instructional decisions. I’m excited to take this journey of exploring and conversing together with all of you about LEARNER DRIVEN EDUCATION!

                                                        So here we go!! 

Ten years ago I had my first opportunity to read A Thomas Jefferson Education by Oliver DeMille and my passion for education was relit. These educational principles, commonly called TJEd, set the stage for my home schooling adventures that also began that same year as my oldest child reached preschool age. At the heart of these principles were The Seven Keys of Great Teaching, namely:

1.       Classics, not Textbooks

2.      Mentors, not Professors

3.      Inspire, not Require

4.      Structure Time, not Content

5.      Quality, not Conformity 

6.      Simplicity, not Complexity

7.      YOU, not Them 

As my children grew, I worked to apply these elements of Great Teaching. Yet, occasionally, I worried that the kids and I weren’t doing enough to help them get a great education. According to TJEd.org:

For great education to occur, students must choose to study long, hard and effectively because they genuinely love it! It must be their passion and their delight. When students are deeply in love with studying, they learn in “the flow” and they absorb massive amounts of information, knowledge, understanding, connections and wisdom in a very short time.

John Holt’s book How Children Learn provided incredible insight into a child’s ability to learn and push themselves to do hard things. Still, I began to wish for a better understanding of what they were doing as they learned in order to give me more confidence and more direction as I applied the Seven Keys of Great Teaching.

Recently two sources have given me new insights and resolve. They also form the basis of this new educational endeavor which is, for now, a blog where I hope to discuss

·         Learners

·         what Drives them to educate themselves

·         How they do it

The first source is a book by Roberta Michnick Golinkoff, Kathy Hirsh-Pasek Ph.D. and Diane Eyer called Einstein Never Used Flashcards: How Our Children Really Learn--and Why They Need to Play More and Memorize Less which outlines how children learn even when they are too young to be taught. While reading this book, I began to wonder if these learning techniques really ever change as children grow and develop.

The second is an article by Larry D Spence entitled “The Case Against Teaching” which is only one of a whole list of people calling for an educational Renaissance. Still, it spoke to me about the need to fundamentally Change education for the better and gave me added direction in what that Change needed to look like and important impetus to part of it.

Many people care deeply about education meeting the needs of learners today. If you're reading this blog, you probably care that education be Learner Driven. 


Tell me:
Why do you care about Education? 
What makes you passionate about Learners driving their education?

~vbb