Teaching: the second oldest profession and, arguably, the most noble.

There have been many famous teachers throughout the ages: Aesop, Socrates, Mr Jeremy Brown, Jesus. The latter’s pet (in what is probably the first case of favouritism and nepotism that our children learn of) was St John. I’m sure the others had theirs. I’m even more certain that teachers themselves have never been society’s pet, as the fate of two of the four listed above clearly demonstrates. Teachers are always accused, blamed and crucified.

Most of the hostility must come from envy, especially during the hot, summer months. Teachers can, in a sense, prolong their childhood for eternity: theirs is the fountain of youth of jobs.

I’m sure that there is also some validity in the constant barrage of criticism thrown at them. Everybody wants to lecture a teacher: there’s a kind of pride in teaching them how to do their job and a joy in correcting the perceived mistakes in their method; an ironic revenge served very cold, a repayment for all those years of tear-inducing red. It’s hard to tell when a critic is realising a childhood fantasy and when it is simply a timely and well-intentioned two-cent donation.

I’ve talked to teachers and, for a brief time, have been one myself. I have met intelligent, hard-working teachers, and teachers who should be the ones being taught. I’ve met teachers who take well to criticism and others who don’t. Usually, the former are knowledge-loving teachers, philosophers; the latter power-hungry despots. Philosophers love teaching, power-mongers love power. As in any other profession, there are good and bad teachers, and the latter are only teachers in name. Simply because famous pedagogues existed does not mean that each and every would-be pedagogue has a right to bask in their glory.

Teaching is a hard job, especially if done well. Those not doing it well are unworthy of the title; those doing it well deserve our utmost admiration.

Teaching involves hard work, sacrifice, patience and persistence: it requires winning over the attention of students, which is one of the hardest goals to achieve. The teacher must be both willing and able to present and share his knowledge creatively, and not bore his audience with a monotonous monologue – an unfortunately all-too familiar scenario. Avoiding tedious delivery of a subject requires skill and careful methodology.

Teaching is a two-way communicative activity. The student’s output is a result of the teacher’s input, which in turn is based on and structured around the student’s output; teaching is the perfect, and possibly uniquely, benign vicious circle. Jean Brodie was keen to point this out in Muriel Spark’s eponymous novel, and insisted that her students receive an education in the original sense of the Latin word: a leading out of knowledge reflecting Plato’s description of the Socratic method.

In fact, a good teacher assesses not only the students, but even his or her own ability to teach. There are a number of ways to do this. For instance, when correcting papers, a teacher should note any questions which even the best students did not get right. That might possibly mean that the topic was not covered well enough, and that it should be revised, and that perhaps the method of conveying should also be revised.

Item analysis once again involves work: it means that not only must the teacher correct papers, but also analyse the results of his or her own corrections and interpret their meaning.

Teaching is not only about content: that content must be given form. A course or a lecture must be structured well and this, once again, involves hard work.

Many people think a teacher’s job is easy, because they envision a person leisurely talking to attentive listeners. Even that, on its own, is a feat: try talking to an audience for a considerable length of time, especially one that is tired. Having to do it while keeping the discipline, paying attention to students’ reaction when faced with new knowledge and keeping in mind how this acquired knowledge fits in the context of the whole course and ensuring that this latter will be greater than the sum of its parts, is a herculean task.

Thankfully, attitudes have recently changed, and while teachers still face the scorn and contempt of society, efforts to increase awareness of what teachers face daily have somewhat paid off: at the very least, most people now realise that teaching involves more than simple parroting.

I could not have chosen to write this article at a better time: I have just received a Teacher’s Card, which promises discounts and benefits when used at certain museums and other places of culture locally and abroad. This is a great initiative by the Education and Employment Ministry (and in particular the Council for the Teaching Profession), one that should be fully commended. Teachers, both practising and not, should strive to widen their horizons and breadth of knowledge, and enrich their cultural understanding. It is their duty as keepers and guardians of knowledge: they owe it to society and to our children, and society owes it to both to facilitate this process.

Even if society backs and helps teachers in their constant and tireless pursuit of knowledge, it is still possible to find some that are not up to par. Having shouldered our responsibility and having done our part in securing the future and well-being of humankind, the teachers must shoulder theirs.

If a teacher is not delivering, then that teacher is to blame for not practising his or her profession well and not living up to the title. Teaching is not different from other professions. People who do not do their job well are not endemic to this or that profession: we can find people like this everywhere. Usually it is the ones bragging the most about their input; I myself can think of a couple of colleagues from my own working experience and I am sure we all can. There is no reason to pick on one profession and conduct a witch hunt.

Unless, of course, it’s for historically pedagogical purposes.