After teaching for a few years and seeing so many students struggle I wondered who schools are designed for. I knew for sure that they were not designed for me. As a teacher I am thoroughly convinced that they are not designed for the vast majority of students. Schools have been custom designed for those who can teach themselves.
My oldest son was a great student. A freak of nature actually, my wife and I never had to tell him to do his homework (my other three children are normal). In high school his second year Spanish teacher thought she was quite good. She even played tapes of herself teaching lessons from the past and used them as lessons in the present. She never moved from behind her desk, not even during a parent conference or Open House! According to my son she would inform the class of the chapter(s) to be covered and then quiz the students. My son received an A. He taught himself well.
My second son said he usually did not understand his Trigonometry teacher. I asked him if would like a tutor because I knew I would be unable to help. He said, “No, thanks. If I read the chapter I can figure it out.” Another A. He taught himself.
I have spent time outside the classroom the last 5 years and have listened to many a complaint by parents like my wife and I concerning teachers who are not teaching their children. These teachers usually point to the one or two students who are doing well and use them as proof of their own viability as an educator.
“A” students teach themselves most of the time.
So, as a teacher I ask myself, “Who is my class designed for?”
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