Corralling Cats, Recipes and Other Classroom Adventures

There’s a nasty little saying – those who can, do and, those who can’t, teach. It evolved from the original thought by George Bernard Shaw, the celebrated Irish playwright and co-founder of the London School of Economics. What he said, or was quoted as saying was, “He who can does. He, who cannot, teaches.” The phrase came from Shaw’s Maxims for Revolutionists: Man and Superman. He opined on everything from education, marriage and religion to government, health care, and class privilege. He was an especially ardent critic of those whom he perceived as exploiting the working class. And, he railed against them as bitter, misguided failures from other fields that used the school system as an excuse or as a refuge.

But regardless of the accuracy of the quote; it still rankles me. Especially when it spews out on some elitist’s mouth, one, who never has stood in front of a classroom full of students of varying backgrounds and abilities. Teachers aren’t faucets. Teachers aren’t necessarily repositories of vast amounts of facts, figures and forgotten information. Socrates, considered one of the greatest teachers of his age, said “I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think. Education and learning is not teacher centric. It is, or should be, student centered. A Buddhist proverb relates, “When the student is willing, the teacher appears.”

With all of the above in mind, I'll return from yet another class and wonder, is it me or is it them? Don’t get me wrong. I love teaching marketing. And, as someone once said, sometimes the fox gets the chicken and sometimes; feathers.

The more I think about it, the more I believe it’s neither of us. It’s the system! The system still perpetuates the old 3R method of teaching. Read, remember and regurgitate. Even when it’s been proven that, within three months of the completion of the course, the student only retains ten percent of what they learned. Within a year, the retention is down to one percent or less. What a colossal waste of time and college funds!

So, according to those who throw around the G. B. Shaw quote, teachers are a bunch of clowns. One of my colleagues, tongue in cheek, does refer to teaching as edutainment. With that said, maybe Chuckles the Clown, the often-mentioned and seldom seen children's television show host character on the vintage seventies sit com, The Mary Tyler Moore Show was right. Chuckles philosophy was, “a little song, a little dance, a little seltzer down your pants.” Sure, some days, I’m tap dancing up there. But every day, I’m giving it my all and that’s what prompted this entry.

It is like corralling cats! Students don’t read, fully understand or follow directions. They paradoxically want the instructor to tell them point-by-point what to do while grumbling about the restrictions. They truly believe that life outside of the institution is better and more structured than it is in the classroom. They want real-life experiences yet, they can’t or won’t allow themselves room for failure. The system is grade and cum driven and their only goal is the grade or GPA. And, the only way they can reach their goal is by absolutely knowing what is required to reach that goal and no more.

The other day in class, I was trying to illustrate how this system is so similar to a recipe. Any fool with a minimum of culinary instruction can follow a recipe – ah; read, react and recreate as specified! But even this comfort level is compromised by the fact that they don’t willingly read, fully understand and completely follow the recipe. I told them that when I was in charge of hiring cooks that I stayed away from a certain institute's students. They could not function beyond the confines of the recipe. Instead, I hired cooks who had a solid comprehension of culinary basics. They were better able to “think outside the box” and were higher functioning.

Every time I enter the classroom I try to live up to my perspective of what it is I believe I contribute to their educational experience. The effort is guided by my creed; I do what I teach and teach what I do. Walt Disney encouraged and empowered his staff to dream and believe; to dare and to do. It is as I said earlier, like corralling cats in the classroom. But, what keeps me going is what happened today when five of my seven marketing project groups successfully delivered their first progressive presentations. Watching and listening and evaluating and assessing every word, graphic and point of delivery this morning, I felt as though I got through to them.

They finally forgot about failure and restrictive context parameters - the recipe - and allowed themselves to be as close to being real marketers as they could be. A couple of the groups gave me that and a whole lot more. I was at peace with myself and my god; feeling, that if I had to exit the planet at that moment, I would be okay with it. Saint Francis of Assisi prayed to be a channel to bring truth where there is error and faith where there is doubt and hope where there is despair. I hope I’m real close to accomplishing that.

Alvin Toffler who wrote Future Shock, one of the seventies' best sellers wrote that, "the illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn." I’m sure it goes for teachers as well.