If you read my last post you will know this rant stems from Kenney's absurd notion that Canada's teachers are responsible for the failure of the Conservative Party of Canada.
Well... I have to be honest. Killing a political party is not my superpower. The conservative parties managed to damage themselves quite well all on their own with no help from me or my teaching colleagues.
But this idea that teachers somehow have the ability to influence the beliefs and values of society got me thinking. Thinking about things that teachers all over the world are blamed for.
Obesity
Teen pregnancy
Bullying
Unemployment
Low test scores
The crashing economy
My dear readers, I cannot even get my students to stop spelling "a lot" as one word. I can't get them to hand their assignments in on time, if at all. I can't get them to put their cellphones away. I can't make them exercise or protect themselves from sexually transmitted disease or eat broccoli. I certainly can't convince some of them that treaty rights are guaranteed by law; that Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden weren't on the same team; that people aren't poor because they are lazy; that it's wrong to cut and paste your essay from Wikipedia, or that paying someone on Course Hero to answer your math questions is a form of cheating.
How the hell am I going to tell them who to vote for?
Teachers teach students how to think.
We do not teach them what to think.
If we did, we could rule the world.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Your comment is awaiting moderation.