How Terrible Teachers Create Great Students
By Dominick Cooper, 2012 Nominee for Young Entrepreneur of the Year, 2011 Winner of the DaVinci Scholar Award, and University Guest Speaker on Education
If you don’t know what a terrible teacher looks like, just watch this clip from the beloved Youtube:
http://youtu.be/hcw3oeEM-Qc
Are you kidding me?! SLEEPING?!! Why is he not doing his job?
But really, what is a teacher’s job? Is it to train kids to pass specific tests?
No,
it’s more than that.
A teacher is supposed to help students learn the class material. Their job is that of a facilitator, not a manufacturer. If students were programmable, then we wouldn’t need teachers. We would only need some matrix-style of learning.
The job of a teacher is to create life-long learners.
Life-long learners. That’s a word that’s thrown around in education circles a lot, but are we really training kids to be life-long learners?
No. Except for a few students from a specific group. Do you know who these kids are?
Students of terrible teachers.
Think about it! Their teacher isn’t teaching them, so how are they going to learn the material? By teaching themselves. It’s either that or fail.
And, remarkably, some choose to fail. YES. CHOOSE.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe stated that,
“Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back– Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation).”
This especially includes education.
He continues to explain that
“there is one elementary truth that ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too.”
If you’re a parent reading this, you need to help your student develop a desire for learning. Without that, any learning is superficial, like water on a duck’s back. If you’re a student reading this, you must find your passions. I say passions in the plural sense because everyone has several things they are interested in. Read books on your own initiative. Turn off the TV. Climb trees. Walk on iced over ponds. Build an erector set. Experimentation is the father of genius.
THIS IS WHY TERRIBLE TEACHERS CAN PRODUCE AMAZING STUDENTS
Students are suddenly faced with a decision to take learning into their own hands and pursue it like a honey badger, or to fold their arms and excuse their inability to learn.
Learning is a responsibility. Not a right or requirement. And, as we know, some people are responsible and some are not.
At Launch Academy, we not only teach our students the content matter they need to master their subject area, but also skills and habits to make them a life-long learner.
If you have any questions about how you as a parent or as a student can foster life-long learning habits, feel free to contact us! Or if you have any other suggestions of how you developed life-long learning habits, leave them in the comments below!
— Stay Smart
Dominick
