A criticism I often level against educators is they teach what to think, because they lack the skill to demonstrate how to think. Most teachers can’t think on their feet: the certification process, which I did in 2005 in NJ and again in 2008 in CA, never asks a teacher to pass a course in logic, or argumentation from evidence.
To be fair, the subject matter tests I took in math and chemistry in CA (the CSETs) were rigorous; but one with knowledge could pass them without having to respond to a new situation, which would require the ability to reason on the fly, under time pressure–simulating the pressure any teacher feels when a smart kid finds an angle no one else saw, one that might invalidate the entire thrust of a unit of curriculum.
Nowadays, you can’t work for the police if your IQ is too high, and I suspect the bureaucratization of education largely exists to prevent talented thinkers from entering the field, lest they threaten the flat-footed mediocrities leading your children to be sheep.
Also worth noting: a teacher that cannot “manage a classroom” with pure speaking and thinking ability (equal parts wisdom and humor) is not selling a captivating product, and probably not modeling actual thinking. Believe it or not, most kids actually want to learn how to think. But their BS detectors are still high, and they can spot the real deal from an impostor going through the motions.
Sound harsh? Ask your children, and you friend’s children. Create a space for them to share candidly, and they’ll tell you.
I’ll frame it another way. When I was a young teacher, I wrote a bunch of cover letters when looking for jobs. While describing my “teaching style”, I had no experience, and could not draw from data.
So when it came time to describe myself, or what I did, what could I say?
“I teach critical thinking” was one of the phrases that came out.
And it worked. I got hired.
And at back to school night? That first year, I shared how I create a space for critical thinking. Blah blah.
It worked. Most parents nodded their heads: I checked off a box. Some of them knew I was using a throwaway word, but didn’t call me on my BS. Out of politeness, I guess.
But the ones that just nodded along must have been thinking: “Mmm, good, Critical Thinking, yes, glad to know he has remembered to teach that. Now what else, inclusion, or finding the joy of learning, nurturing their inner spirit, mmm.”
For years I have alleged (and now do so more than ever) that those phrases–be they uttered by a teacher, a guidebook, or posted on a school website–indicate where someone is going through the motions in educating your child.
Marketers of education know to check these boxes. Guaranteed to capture the percentage that just nods along.
Nodding along is in fact one of the biggest problem behaviors arresting the future of American education. Teachers accept the nodding-along student because that student signals compliance, and compliance is at this point the top skill taught in American public and private education.
“Believe this; we know; we did the science. You’ll be tested at the end of the week.”
Students aren’t taught to test ideas. Instead, they are told “here’s the ideas we think smart people should test, and here’s the proper way to show you’ve tested them.”
Don’t believe me? Ask your children what passes for truth in schools.
The problem exists at universities too: “We did all the science on this. The only people who believe otherwise are disgusting bigots, whose views are beyond rational comprehension. Appropriately, you may feel justified demonizing them.”
This is not simply bad pedagogy: speech like this indicates signaling as a cultural norm. In Darwinian terms, it’s simply a status display to inspire emotions that hinder actual questioning.
And it is very, very aggressive. And insidious. And your kids, if not taught otherwise, will copy that behavior. Avoid it if you can.
That said, some of you will indeed send your children to elite universities. If you do, their paths to success will be in finance, business, computer programming, AI/machine learning, statistics/data science, applied math, bioinformatics, and media/design.
I keep current in these fields: both the careers you can build with them, and the key problems tackled in each field. Check out my programs where I guide students through any level of education (HIGHER ED / FGOC).
Now, you might argue that you want your child at least comfortable with the ideas and attitudes you’re supposed to copy. (Not all are bad either). You might say, “as much as I disagree, I want my kids ready for the lingo used in colleges; after all, their peers at well-paying jobs will often speak and think in a copy of what they’ve been taught.”
However, your child doesn’t need to live in that world to know how to get along with it. (Can you behave respectfully in a new environment without having grown up there?) It’s quite easy to create flow with the people who just repeat the ridiculous notions they come to learn from some of their teachers going through the motions.
The bigger issue concerns your children.
Children either imitate who they are around–or they seek escapes from relating someone they are forced to copy (often through misbehavior). It’s the rare child that has all the skills needed to:
- See the worst teachers for what they are: non-thinkers. Someone who works in education because they were directionless at age 20, and simply imitated the teachers they themselves learned from.
- Make peace with such teachers — no acting out! Recognize a non-thinker when you meet one, and learn to speak their language. Exercise compassion. No sense in challenging the ideas of someone who will just take it personally.
- Work within the lines — answer their questions truthfully, clearly, but framed in a manner that works within “acceptable discourse”. (You will not convince them otherwise, and
- Look past the drama — and the half-truths, untruths, and outright lies. You’re in school to prepare for your life beyond it. Get A’s, pass with high marks, and learn, of course… but for yourself, for the skills you carry forward, not just to impress the weakest of your teachers.
I teach these skills to all my students in public/private schools. And for my homeschool students, I ready them for such professors in college (if that’s their path).
Parents often object to posts like this. In an ideal world, we shouldn’t have to… Yup. That world lost any chance of happening well over 30 years ago. The world of your child’s future is the world we must prepare them for.
Besides, when I teach my students about this stuff, they find it quite fun. And the discussions of the phenomenon (non-thinkers teaching “Critical Thinking”) range far and deep. They don’t come out jaded, but grateful: who else would teach them how things really work? Who else would show them how to thrive in such a bizarre, Kafkaesque world?
I’ll end by saying that I might appear too harsh on teachers–but the best ones out there know I’m right. They’re surrounded by mediocrities. Hamstrung. And often targeted by them.
All of whom were certified by the state to teach your children.
Need help navigating your teachers? I got you.
Decided you’ve had enough, and want to homeschool? I can help you.