Education is one of the bedrock foundations of society and it is crumbling. School districts around the world are reporting shortages among classroom educators, bus drivers, counselors, even superintendents. But education is frequently treated as the stepchild of society.
Education and educators are unappreciated. Those who can do, those who can’t teach is a line from George Bernard Shaw’s play Man and Superman. This derogatory phrase is still slung at educators.
Covid has exposed the difficulty of teaching children. Children’s minds frequently wander. They are forever curious. Children will pick up strange “facts”. Teachers have to know the answer to questions like, “Why is the sky blue?” or why is it dark at night?. Teachers simply answering “this is the way it is” will not suffice.
Covid has exposed the necessity of education to parents, politicians, and businesspeople. Education today is blamed for societal ills, resulting in funding cuts to public education. Education today is largely about producing workers, and not thinkers. This has led to underpaid and overworked teachers
Low performing societies have low performing schools. Schools are a vital necessity to societies, especially in the 21st century.
Perhaps the more appropriate quotation to use about public education is “Those who know, do. Those that understand, teach.”
Aristotle