"My pastor is not very interesting as a speaker. He is more the 'teacher-type.'" This little statement was made to me by a lady with whom I was talking
about the Lord's work. This statement is typical of many similar ones which
I hear from coast to coast. If a person is uninteresting, he is the "teacher-type."
If a speaker is boring, he must be a teacher. If a speaker is able to speak
in terms that the hearer cannot understand, he is the "teacher-type." It
seems that to many, teaching is the ability to confuse the hearer so that
he will leave the room amazed at the brilliance of the teacher. It might
be wise to examine just what teaching really is.
1. Teaching is the transfer of knowledge.
To many, it is considered
the displaying of knowledge. Teaching is not the taking out of one's knowledge
and displaying it in the presence of the hearer. Teaching is the hearer
leaving with knowledge wi th which the speaker entered. Unless the hearer
leaves knowing what the speaker knew when he came, the teaching process
has not taken place. This would indicate that many times the pupil fails
does so, at least partially, because the teacher has failed. Some speakers
and professors appear to think that it would be plagiarism for the student
to learn what the instructor knows. The teacher has failed when the student
does not leave knowing what the teacher knew when he entered. Teaching,
in a sense, is tr ansferring profound truth into simplicity so that it
in turn may be transferred into profound work.
2. Teaching is a transfer of personality.
The pupil should not
only learn what the teacher knows; he should also, in a sense, become what
the teacher is. Teaching is not only the transferring of knowledge, it
is the transferring of zeal, hones ty, enthusiasm, optimism, generosity,
and other traits that a good teacher possesses. This transfer of personality
cannot be made if there is no teacher. This is one of the weaknesses of
correspondence courses and similar forms of education. Most of us, as we
think back over our childhood and youth, can remember far more of what
our teachers were like than we can of what our teachers taught.
3. Teaching is the transfer of procedure.
Not only should the
pupil learn the facts and how to adorn them with the right personality,
but he should learn propriety, procedure, neatness, and orderliness if
he is to be taught properly. Such lesso ns can be learned from a neat room,
a clean building, an orderly presentation, and proper organization and
discipline.
4. Teaching is an incarnation of ideas.
Most people cannot define
such things as loyalty and patriotism. They can, however, point to someone
who has these qualities.
It is easier to learn loyalty from a loyal person than from a lecture
on loyalty. Hence, the right teacher would incorporate these ideals and
others into his personality and character so that the pupil can emulate
him and reach the desired end.
5. Teaching is the ability to inspire learning.
Good teaching
makes learning easy and, to some degree, fun. Again, this puts not only
the burden of teaching on the teacher but also the burden of learning and
places the responsibility of failure on the teacher's shoulders as well
as the student's.
May the dear Lord deliver us from being the "teacher-type." May we be
more concerned about making our pupils the "learning-type."
