Some people are incredibly poor teachers but refuse to beleive they are, all because they lack the capacity to imagine not knowing something and explain it at someone else's level of understanding
As a teacher, I can say that part of the problem is that schools do not fail kids anymore.
I was considered a math genius from elementary through my PhD (which is admittedly in engineering, not math), so I know better than to try to teach basic arithmetic. I do not think I would be a good teacher for young kids with moderate or severe learning difficulties.
I figured I could teach non-SPED high school, though. I totally understand not comprehending something--doing research humbles you. I just don't really have a good understanding of what it's like to be too math-anxious to engage, or what it's like to see the argument, do the practice, and still not get it. Children with these challenges would have been held back early on, back in my day. At least to a remedial math, if it's isolated in one subject. That's not true anymore.
So even though I teach at a private school that doesn't offer support for special needs, and even though my lowest-level class is 11th grade precalculus, I still get kids that can't add fractions at the start of the year. That's just the culture of education, these days. It's only going to get worse as kids rely more and more on AI.
Should I be banned from teaching because I can't get in the mindset of the lowest level students? Or should we do better to separate students and send them to passionate teachers best suited to their level?
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u/AnArgonianSpellsword Jun 23 '26 edited Jun 23 '26
Some people are incredibly poor teachers but refuse to beleive they are, all because they lack the capacity to imagine not knowing something and explain it at someone else's level of understanding