Think Like a Teacher

So many impassioned, experienced teachers bring powerful vision to what they do. I am humbled to have spent time with them as colleagues and as members/users of TeachersFirst. No, not every teacher collecting a check is amazing. Some are “adequate.” But we need to notice the Artist’s Eye that many, many fine and experienced teachers bring to their studio: the classroom.

I worry about losing the power of good teachers’ vision.  I speak of the Artist’s Eye teachers use to view what happens when a child learns. There is a keen vision that sees the “ground” behind a student’s thinking as much as the “figure” of his achievement itself, the eye that sees the image of learning as a whole or the landscape of a classroom as a rich interplay of elements. Often we do not appreciate what a fine teacher’s eye actually sees. If we quantify or oversimplify what a teacher sees and notices, we risk losing the subtle differences between measuring or diagramming a student’s learning and actually building on it with nuance and sensitivity. We need the nuances of such vision to enable the “21st century learning” so much discussed today.

 We teach new teachers to measure and diagram, but somewhere after a few years– or many years– some of them develop an Artist’s Eye. No one masters the Artist’s Eye at first crack. It takes years of practice. Look at the “studies” an artist such as Van Gogh or Picasso does in early years and how the works evolve later. Vision takes time.

As we tacitly allow costly, experienced teachers to retire — even a little early — in the interest of saving money, I worry about losing the powerful Artist’s Eye that a creative, experienced teacher brings to every interaction with a student.  We can search for passion and dedication among those to enter the profession, but they will not replace that Artist’s Eye on entry.

So what do I propose? First, stop the premature loss of the masters who have the Artist’s Eye. Give them the “studio space” to continue learning themselves. Then allow the novice artists, those with an immature eye, to steep in the perception of the masters. Make sure that every newbie has a chance to spend time watching how an Artist “sees” and listening to him/her talk about it. Make sure that no newbie is left alone with frustrated, undervalued, sarcastic, uncaring  folks who have lost their Artist’s Eye (or perhaps never had it).

We need to appreciate the Artists we have: teachers who perceive the differences in light between the eyes of two students, who see the differences and use just the right hues in their works to carry others beyond a straightforward image of “content” to a lifelong desire to learn more. True art takes on a life of its own.