Educator: A Calling, not a Job

    Educators are leaving schools at a rapid rate and the national academic scores are decreasing just as fast. One of the Universities I had the pleasure of teaching at shut down suddenly because less students are pursuing undergraduate degrees. The government has allocated funds to entice people to pursue a career in teaching, but they are immediately deterred by the state of public education, treatment of teachers in the classroom, and the rise in behavioral disorders. We need to change the way we approach education and reevaluate what it means to be a teacher.

What It Means to be An Educator

    The term "educator" has changed in recent years from an individual who teaches children skills to become lifelong learners to a person who watches kids learn from a Chromebook. In an attempt to hire more "teachers" public education systems have created a suboptimal and counterproductive way for learning to be automated; therefore, there is no need for skilled educators but glorified babysitter who can keep them subdued. Consequently, this assembly line approach to efficiently instruct students has decreased test scores and depleted student engagement.
    Classical Greek Philosopher, Socrates, is credited for saying, "I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think." Albert Einstein stated something similar when he wrote, "I never teach my pupils; I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn." Two of the most brilliant minds in the history of humanity both agree that children don't need to be taught facts, but given the tools and freedom to inquire, explore, and experiment. A child learns when they discover an answer or a satisfactory explanation for something that piqued their curiosity. If the child is not curious, they will not learn because learning is about understanding.

The Learning Environment

    Our current system of education works on a rote memorization and multiple-choice examinations. Memorizing when and how the revolutionaries fought the British doesn't demonstrate a student's understanding of why the freedom fighters rebelled. There are philosophical, logical, and ethical implications that are more relevant and pertinent towards the child's development than the number 1773. One of the biggest problems students are facing are the lack of connection between what they are learning and the real-life application of that information. They're smart enough to recognize they are processing information that will be obsolete when they graduate, so they check out mentally. If students are not actively engaged in the material, learning will not occur.

    There are three things an educator must consider for learning to occur: Connection, Curiosity, and Creativity.

Connection

    Theodore Roosevelt once said, "People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care." Most children are trapped in the classroom against their will and a teacher with a warden-like mentality will only invite rebellion. Children and adolescents need to feel safe in order to be comfortable enough to relax and be themselves. While a child is in a fight-or-flight state, they will be tense and preoccupied with survival against the authoritarian adult. An educator needs to create an atmosphere of acceptance and respect so the child can explore and engage the environment creatively.

Curiosity

    Once a child feels emotionally and physically safe with the grown up in the room, the educator is tasked with sparking the child's curiosity on the subject at hand. World-renowned Irish poet, W.B. Yeats, illustrated it best when he wrote, "Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire." A pail full of water will stagnate eventually, while a fire grows and burns brighter as it consumes more. Think of a child's curiosity and spirit of inquiry like a fire that you must start and fan, but then give it room. 

    Practically, this looks like open-ended questions that are provocative and relevant. Exemplary learning is about child-directed learning or adjusting the lesson plan in accordance with student inquiry. Moreover, studies show that students retain more knowledge about things they are interested in than what they are forced to learn. So, the trick is to get them interested in literature, science, or mathematics by making it as real and hands-on at first to ignite the fire.

Creativity

    Albert Einstein put it best when he wrote, "it is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge." Multiple-choice exams are not the most accurate representation of student mastery or comprehension. Creative expression is the best form of displaying mastery because it is unique to the individual's most authentic form of communication. Not everyone can articulate best in an essay or exam, but it doesn't mean they don't understand. Students should be given alternative forms of demonstrating understanding that allow for creative expression.
    Exams allow for cheating and essays are becoming generated Ai-fodder, but let them create something with your hands, a film, a song, a play, or a dance that exemplifies the scientific, philosophical, or ethical concepts being taught in class. It sounds crazy, but studio schools around the world are doing it and students who spend less time in school are outperforming the United States.

The Calling

    Educators who are unwilling to take the time to develop relationships with their students and find out whether or not their basic needs are being met, should not be educators. Students can't learn if they are in turmoil at home. John Steinbeck once wrote, "teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit." These are humans we are dealing with, and if a person is not going to give it their all, then they shouldn't be in the classroom. We shouldn't lower the standards for education or educators because children deserve better. Our future deserves better. If you desire to teach the mind and spirit of each child and foster an atmosphere for creative expression, then education is your calling.