I love debates. I think they are fascinating. I love good debaters even more. There are very few people whom I admire more than someone who can argue that black is white, and manage to convince you because they are just that good at making a point.
Unfortunately, I don't have a decent debating bone in my body. I could blame it on the fact that my high school never had a debate team, or that my parents taught me arguing wasn't a very nice thing to do. Or, I could just admit that I am not meant to be a debater. I have never really been able to pick one side of an argument and stick with it. I'll feel fairly confident with what myself and my team have come up with, but usually within about five minutes I'm extremely impressed with the points made by the other team and I conclude that we should all just meet in the middle somewhere and celebrate that we are all smart and came up with good points. I've even applauded for opposing team members when they say something I think is terrific, and surrendered in the middle of a debate because I thought people were getting too passionate. Needless to say, no one really wants me on their debate team. Go figure.
For me, the question of subject vs. professional knowledge...which is more important? is no different. I think they're both essential.
Subject knowledge is incredibly important, and surprisingly I feel a lot of people don't realize this. For me personally, I wanted my teachers to be smarter than me. I wanted them to know the answers to the questions I had, and if they didn't, I wanted them to at least make an educated guess. Some would argue that in elementary school, this doesn't matter as much. I don't agree. Of course you don't have to be an expert in every subject you are going to be covering, but it's important that you know what you're talking about. I think passion about a subject falls into this category. Of course your students are going to notice if you're passionate about a subject, and your students are bound to learn more from you if you are.
A former teacher of mine was one of the best teachers I've ever had because she was so passionate. She LOVED science. She brought in animals and cool books, she showed us slides, and took us on awesome field trips. None of us were science enthusiasts by any stretch of the imagination, but that year she ignited a passion in all of us for the scientific world. She was careful to find a scientific level she could relate to all of us on: She made me feel like the coolest girl in the world because on occasion, salamanders would get into my basement. (I honestly believed that was something to be proud of until I was in grade eight or something ridiculous like that. ) After that awesome year, my interest in science gradually faded away to the point of sheer annoyance with the whole subject in my middle school years.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, I once had a math teacher whom I will politely describe as incapable of doing math. She had all the essentials of teaching down pat. She knew all of the curriculum guidelines, she knew all of the tips and tricks, and she had studied the textbook thoroughly. Any administrator or colleague would tell you she was a fine example of a professional teacher. There was only one problem: she didn't get math. Now, she could use an example out a textbook, write it up on the board, and show us the answer. However, try plugging a seven in instead of a nine, and this woman's world was thrown upside down. She could struggle through what was required of her as a teacher in the subject, but she certainly didn't inspire anyone in math that year, or the next few that we were stuck with her. Some might argue that when a teacher has struggled with a subject, it's all the better for him/her to teach it to you. The teacher understands that you have difficulties, and can show you different methods to work through them because he/she has had difficulties too! This is all fine and dandy, unless the teacher is so busy trying to figure the subject out him/herself, he/she is unable to teach it to you. Or has you so confused by the end (after attemping and erasing the work to the question numerous times, and arriving at totally different answers every time) that you're really not even sure what it is you're supposed to be learning. To this day, I have a three-year blank period when it comes to math. That's not to say it's all her fault. I could have pursued math interests on my own time. I could have signed up for an extra tutorial with a willing teacher or I could have tried to learn the concepts on my own. I'm just saying, she will always be thought of as a terrible teacher in my mind, and it's not because she wasn't thoroughly educated in the professional knowledge sector.
That all being said, I really think that professional knowledge is just as, if not more important than subject knowledge. Just because you are really bright in a certain subject, or even in general, it does not mean that you will be a great teacher. Far from it. Many of the smartest people I know are terrible teachers (fortunately, most of them recognized this and have no desire to be in the teaching profession). To a certain extent, I do believe that if you have the basics of teaching down pat, you should be able to teach most subjects. For most people, it is probably much easier to take a crash course in a subject (whoops! Didn't realize that this new position included high school chemistry...I was a biology kind of kid...) than it is to take a crash course in teaching (hmmm, I've spent my whole life working in a library archiving pictures. It should be no problem for me to brush up on my teaching skills and take on this English position. I love to read, and really, how hard can teaching 23 thirteen and fourteen year-olds be?).
As our class debate illustrated, it really wouldn't work to focus on simply one aspect or the other. The best teachers are the ones able to combine both excellence in subject knowledge and professional knowledge.
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