Over a decade ago I sat in an Education 101 course and the professor posed the single most important question on education that I’ve ever had to grapple with. 

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“What is a Teacher’s responsibility?” 

After providing a few moments for us to think about the question, she asked each student for their answer one by one. Each student had a laundry list of answers. 

• Educate the students 
• Equip the students with new skills  
• Put the students on the path to success 
• Maintain a positive learning environment 

I disagreed with some of the responses.  

• Educate the students? No one can force education on another.  
• Equip students with new skills? No one can force new skills on another. 
• Putting a student on a path to success? No one can “put” someone on the path to success 

I agreed with some of the responses, but they seemed to be an element of my 3 word answer. 

Make Education Possible 

I’ve thought long and hard about my answer and through the years I have adjusted my response, specifically one word has changed. It’s not just the responsibility of an educator to make education possible- it’s the responsibility of the educator to make education attractive. 

It’s the responsibility of the educator to make education attractive. 

I listened to a podcast recently with a University Philosophy Professor that seemed to agree with my answer.  

As a result, he conspicuously had one less rule then most of his peers- in most classrooms cell phone usage is strictly prohibited; not in this professor’s classroom.  

He allowed cell phone usage as a means to measure how attractive education is in his classroom. 

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Now, let’s be honest, this is playing educator on hard mode.  

I don’t even know if this is great strategy. 

 But, I love the thought process. In this Professor’s mind if he had not made the material attractive enough to outweigh the appeal of fruit ninja, Mr. Beast, and the text message from the cute girl you met last week then it’s not attractive enough.  

All to often the measure of quality education is either set too high (educators should make their students learn) or far too low (teachers should just present the necessary information); a properly motivated educator aligns their sights to a goal that will push them to better and better quality.  

I think that the proper goal for an educator should be to make education attractive. 

What’s YOUR Vision? 

 

• What is your answer? What is a teacher’s responsibility? 
• How has this goal pushed you in your educational setting?