3 April 2006 
Teachers & Teaching: A Definition
To begin our perusal of teachers, teaching, and the learning process, it is necessary to first establish some terminology for discussion. After all, the idea of teaching means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. Using the “Googlism” tool, we find that Google says:
- teaching is as much about passion as it is about reason
- teaching is a work of heart
- teaching is not a brassiere
- teaching is teaching is teaching
- teaching is a full time profession in quebec
- teaching is better than bossing
Got it? Well, maybe not. How about this: The American Heritage® Dictionary says that to teach is “To impart knowledge or skill to.”
We’re getting closer, but there is still a crucial element lacking. The definition from which I will be working encompasses the lexical meaning, but completes it by giving it an object:
Teaching is communicating knowledge of a subject to a person or persons.
That should be enough to get us started in our discussion. Have I missed anything?
Next week: Subject to Enthusiasm
This post is part of the Teachers & Teaching series, which can be found listed in its entirety here.
Print This
Getting a bit philosophical, I’d say that the first thing a teacher must instill in the student is how to learn. Of course, the parent should have handled this lesson already, but no teacher today can rely on that.