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Another Voice

Matthew Parris

Wednesday, 4th June 2008

There are no ‘good’ teachers: the teacher who is good for you may wreck another’s prospects

Mrs McLeod had most of the qualities that traditionalist educationalists would describe as necessary in a good teacher. She kept an iron discipline but without needing to knock anyone about, she commanded respect, she set a personal example, she was consistent and even-tempered, and she set out with great clarity the values and rules she believed we boys and girls needed to guide us. Most of these were unexceptional though what distinguished Mrs McLeod’s values was the imperative for us to be ‘articulate’ in all senses of the word: to think before we spoke; to frame our thoughts in clear language; to speak distinctly, to speak up and to speak in standard, received English pronunciation. She detested what she considered the sloppy, mumbling, drawling sound of a white Rhodesian accent (the accent of almost all of my classmates) and boys or girls who pronounced words in a strongly accented way were forcefully instructed to try again, in front of the whole class. My Queen’s English accent was music to her ears.

Mrs McLeod’s philosophy was that the first and most important thing, when you were eight, was to learn the facts: the facts of arithmetic, history, geography, science and English grammar. Any personal interest you might develop in any of these disciplines could be followed up as and when appropriate, but (in Miss Jean Brodie’s words) the meaning of ‘education’ to Mrs McLeod was not so much a drawing out as a putting in.

Her method of putting in was to praise and encourage the boys and girls in her class who showed promise, as beacons to all the rest. I was one of these. As to all the rest, they were given to understand (and in emphatic terms) that they were not cutting the mustard.

What followed was the natural consequence: that if you were of average to above-average intelligence, played by the teacher’s rules and did your best to please her, your reward would be conspicuous. Basking in her approval, you would grow in self-confidence. Her absolute command, and the fact that you knew her approval was not offered to everybody but only to a chosen few, made being in Mrs McLeod’s good books a most inspiring thing.

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John Ionides

June 5th, 2008 8:22am

Indeed; and it is a fundamental failing with try to turn out teaching clones crammed full of "best practice". Far better to have a range of styles, one (or more) of which will hopefully resonate with each child.

The same is, of course, true of schools. A learning environment, or set of education abjectives, that is ideal for one child might be far less suitable for another.

TDK

June 6th, 2008 10:17am

Your anecdote tells of a teacher who chose favourites and used the favourites to humiliate the other children. I'm sure such exist. I'm sure that your ego was flattered by the attention.

I'm sure there are other measures of goodness.

I recall certain teachers who were able to command the attention of a class. Teachers who had learnt the art of gaining silence by lowering the voice. These were classes in which I wasn't even in the top 50%. Despite dropping history, I still retain an interest that the teacher originally inspired.

I also recall teachers whose inability to control the class denied learning to everyone.

I teacher I know draw a parallel to acting. Each lesson is a performance and unfortunately just as there are good actors there are good teachers. Teacher training may mitigate the weaknesses of some teachers but it will never give the gift of truly inspirational teaching to those who don't have it already.

It's not that I disagree with your point that if you ask a schoolyard, who is the best teacher, you will get many different nominations. It's just that it is nonsense to suggest that there aren't better and worse teachers.

Karen Cronje

July 22nd, 2008 8:22am

I was in Mrs McLeod's class in 1978 and she still looked like this article described her!!!!! Her first name was Jean and she did have a husband. What a great teacher she was!