Teachers Should be Critical of Bad Teaching

However, I've been thinking about the Jeff Bliss video again. I've written before that we don't know the whole story. I've mentioned that I'm bothered by the way people used this video to attack all teachers. And yet, as I've thought more about the topic, I've come to the conclusion that we, as teachers, should be critical of bad teaching. 

This doesn't mean that we attack individual teachers. Often, "bad" teachers aren't rogue educators out to harm kids so much as people who need to make paradigm shifts and change their teaching strategies. My hope is that bad teachers get the support that they need. (I hate using the term "bad" here, because I've had moments where I was a pretty bad teacher myself)

Still, we should be angry at the lack of professionalism with a classroom where there are disengaged students sitting in rows of desks with a teacher walled in by a teacher desk while kids fill out packets. We should be bothered, not by the five minutes of video we see, but by the fact that too many classes are void of creativity and critical thinking. That should infuriate us. 

Bad teaching should bother teachers, not just because they make the profession look bad, but because it's bad for kids. Ultimately, that's what we're all about. True, teachers are tired. We're all wiped out at this time of year. My guess is that if teachers are anything like me, they're also feeling a little insecure right now as they come to terms with the mistakes that they've made over the course of the year. 

 

But even in the midst of the insecurity and the exhaustion, it's not a bad thing for teachers to be outraged by stacks of mindless packets. We need to be advocates for great teaching.