“Teaching is not a lost art, but the regard for it is a lost tradition.”

Part One of Three

Teachers. Our first heroes (after mom and dad, of course), our first nemeses— adjudicators of our scholastic fate. But teachers provide so much more than I suspect many appreciate. If you truly deconstruct today’s teacher, their role is that of a highly-skilled babysitter entrusted not just to look over your children, but teach them to be cultured, productive members of society. Why? Because as a working parent you don’t have the time!  We often hear the shared gripe that teachers are paid too little for what they’re expected to accomplish. What is it, exactly, that they need to accomplish? What goes in to educating a child?

It Starts At Home

Learning for proficiency requires one ingredient above all else: curiosity. A need to know, a yearning to understand– lack of settling for what is! We’re all born with it– just watch an infant. Their eyes are wide and scouring their environment for information; thirsting for knowledge of the world around them. This bewilderment never leaves us, but instead becomes dumbed-down or distracted.

Prior to the millennial generation, children went to school, played sports, and helped with chores around the house. Prior to certain laws being passed- they might have even been earning a living. From the 30’s to 90’s, comic books existed as the chief facilitator of procrastination. The 90’s introduced us to console games and computers, which paved the way to where we are today: cheap laptops, streaming this, cloud-based that, and 1,000 channels of absolutely nothing. Worrisome parents tell their children not to go outside because of sun, smog, high cholesterol, and saving the African Snow Geese. Sports are too competitive and encourage bias, nature is too dangerous, and God forbid a child walks home from school: if they’re not abducted, they’ll be heroin-addicted gang members within three blocks.

Please, dear reader, don’t misunderstand– I had Nintendo, Super Nintendo, and cable TV growing up. The way it was regarded, however, was significantly different from how we’re seeing things today. Back then it was a reward. There was still only one, maybe two TV’s in the house. You had to fight the other family members for that oh-so-glorious vacuum-tube powered machine. Today, a decent TV costs about $200, cell phones are are more powerful gaming machines than even my first laptop (and seemingly belong in the hands of every American over the age of four). Kids are handed DVD players and handhelds to keep from being rowdy or distracting mom and dad, essentially putting blinders on them. Whatever opportunities a child has to learn about their world are now lost into an ever-accessible digital world.

My parents grew up in the age of Ted Bundy, Charles Manson and the Zodiac Killer. My sister, brother, and I all walked home from school with two marching orders: 1) Don’t take candy/rides from strangers and 2) If you come home and the door is locked, we’ve moved– don’t come looking for us. None of us are addicted to heroin (though caffeine is an entirely different story) and to my knowledge, the Brookeville Mafia is not active in organized crime.

“Those who are unaware they are walking in darkness will never seek the light.” – Bruce Lee

Simply put, if we’re not pushing kids to discover what they don’t know– how can we expect to ignite their curiosity? If they are not given the opportunity to experience and question the world around them, how will the next great “ah-HA!” moment arise? Just like constructing a house that will stand the test of time requires a great foundation and planning; constructing a great mind starts at home with right opportunities.

Stay tuned for my next piece analyzing the trials and tribulations of educators in the classroom!

Thanks for reading!