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0 pointsshortrounddev22y ago0 comments

> The most important thing a teacher should do is help the students internalize why they’re learning the material. What they can do with it.

Depending on the topic there is often no "why". Most classes a student takes are required and they have absolutely zero interest in them and they will willfully forget them as soon as the semester is over

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7 comments · 2 top-level

kmoser2y ago· 3 in thread

There is always a "why", else what would be the use of teaching the subject in the first place, even to enthusiastic students?

OP's point is that helping the students understand the "why" might spark interest in them. Even if you reach one kid, you will have achieved your intended result.

SamoyedFurFluff2y ago

The why the course is useful to know may not actually ever be relevant to the students why they’re taking the class, and no amount of informing the student how it’s useful will assist them. Knowing firsthand the value of tax knowledge doesn’t mean I have any level of enthusiasm about my taxes…

Btw, for your baking example: the great British bake off is a wildly popular show and yet almost none of the people I know who are fans care to even try to learn baking themselves. I just don’t think it’s a think that happens to any degree you think it does.

jstarfish2y ago

> the great British bake off is a wildly popular show and yet almost none of the people I know who are fans care to even try to learn baking themselves.

You're missing the point of teaching anything. Teaching is (literally) the act of grooming someone to be receptive to an idea. It's different from training, which is the act of coaching someone into doing something.

When the day comes where one of those fans does try to bake something, everything they saw on the show is going to resonate in a way it wouldn't for someone without the exposure.

I don't bake, but I now know two ways in which greasy meat leads to a soggy bottom.

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shortrounddev2OP2y ago

> what would be the use of teaching the subject in the first place, even to enthusiastic students?

This is something which you should always ask yourself in a class. What use is this class?

Usually the "why" is: "nobody would take this class unless we forced them to, and the English department would starve to death without forced pre-requisites"

> Even if you reach one kid, you will have achieved your intended result

If you reach 1 kid in a class of 30 you have objectively failed

schneems2y ago· 2 in thread

There’s always a reason.

“I want to learn something just to learn something” isn’t the best reason, but it is A reason.

I mention in another post that even if the reason doesn’t interest you personally, the teacher still should make a strong case and you should walk away knowing why someone (even if not you) could do, if only they had the knowledge.

nimonian2y ago

> “I want to learn something just to learn something” isn’t the best reason,

Why?

schneems2y ago

Films exist without motive, plot, climax, or story. Some people love these films. If that’s the kind of story that you seek, then the teacher doesn’t need to lift a finger. Good for you.

For the rest of us, we need to want a hole before we learn how to use a drill. And that’s okay too.

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