The Myths of Teaching

“Everything depends upon the teacher.”

“The teacher is an expert.”

“Teachers are self-made.”

These are myths that Deborah Britzman talks about in her book Practice Makes Practice – A Critical Study of Learning to Teach (2003, p. 223). She looks at how these cultural myths form the idea of a teacher and teaching, either summoning people to the profession or turning them away because they feel they cannot fulfill these myths. Britzman looks at the unique circumstance of the student teacher, who enters the field with these myths in mind and sets the goal of embodying them.

Everything Depends on the Teacher

Britzman describes that there are two rules students and teachers understand in education: “unless the teacher establishes control, there will be no learning; and, if the teacher does not control the students, the students will control the teacher” (p. 224) Not having control or asking others to help control a class, are seen as the marks of an incompetent teacher. This control covers the students’ learning, curriculum, and social control such as classroom management. By being the controller, the teacher has to acknowledge their isolated position in the classroom and the weight of the responsibility upon their shoulders.

Deconstruction this myth, Britzman explains that students are never just learners. They come to the class with their own knowledge and capabilities. Understanding this lessens control because teachers can be open to how the students take in and interact with the material. Teachers can also see how students set rules for themselves and keep themselves and others accountable. I think there is a certain amount of control that teachers need to lay the foundation for a healthy learning environment, but that students should also be given control so that they can learn how to use it responsibly.

The Teacher as Expert

This myth revolves around two fears: “knowing how to teach and knowing everything there is to know about the material” (p. 227). I felt these fears keenly during my practicum experience. Whenever students had a question, I felt that I needed an answer or would be seen as incompetent, not only by them but anyone else assessing me as well. Sure, I can tell students that “I don’t know, I’ll have to get back to you” but even that admission feels like it can only be made sparingly. This fear is in contradiction with being a student teacher, which Britzman acknowledges. Student teachers are in the process of learning and so obviously do not know enough to be considered ‘experts’, and yet to students and assessors, students teachers must seem as expert as possible.

Knowledge can be seen as experience gained through practice but Britzman argues that this knowledge is not concrete. Experience is affected by many factors of a given day as well as our own internalized notions to do with that situation. We cannot just say that we have gained enough experience about x to know y, but we should acknowledge that what we know is conditional and can always change.

I certainly still struggle with breaking down this myth but I think reframing what kind of expert I want to become is a starting point. Instead of being an expert on material, I think becoming an expert on how to continuously build upon practice is better. It helps to relinquish that sense of duty to know everything, spreading the responsibility of knowledge to everyone instead of resting it upon one person in the classroom.

Teachers are Self-Made

This myth addresses how some teachers are natural and born for the profession. This natural teacher “somehow possesses talent, intuition, and common sense” (p. 230) and ignores everything that has gone into the individual’s education. I think this is a dangerous myth because prospective teachers look to themselves and determine they cannot be a teacher because they do not have these qualities. Yes, I believe that one needs to have an interest in teaching in order to enter the profession, but many of the skills required to be a teacher can be learned.

Personally, I have been working for the past 10 years in customer service positions. All of those interactions with people, alongside the other aspects of the work – like time management, professionalism, practical knowledge – have contributed to my understanding of others. Those years generated my interest in others and for teaching. If you had asked me if I thought I could be a teacher before those 10 years, I would not have known if I ‘had what it took’ based on the myths that I believed.

Conclusion

Britzman explains that there are many aspects that go into creating a teacher, from life experiences, to coursework, to the reflections that we make upon what we know. After reading this article, it’s evident to me that teaching and learning is never static. We don’t just grow up, but in all directions, expanding and molding our knowledge with every interaction, reading, and experience.