Colossians 2:8 states:
“See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.”
Education sounds wonderful, and it is, but teaching is not what it looks from the outside.
The public eye on teaching in the past has often seen teaching as easy. Picture a teacher sitting at the desk with their legs up while reading the newspaper. Yeah, this is the perception.
Teachers are often given curriculum that is supposed to build up the knowledge and understanding of students. I admit, at times I let the curriculum become my master, only to come back and have it hit me in the face; students weren’t as excited as I was about the new ways to multiply fractions or discover the main idea in a reading passage. Hence, behavioral charts came into play.
These charts were geared towards helping students make the right decision, which is a good thing. The part I didn’t subscribe to was the sense of bribery that was happening. “Devon, if you read for 20 minutes, I’ll give you candy.” I taught in a school that encouraged tricks in order to keep students in line. Often, subs that came in for the day geared up with buckets of candy. Not to mention, one of these subs was nominated to go and visit another country for her teaching efforts. She had taught for over 20 years, but when I talked with her, she was saddened by the changes the school had made over time. I have taught in 4 different schools, and I find that the longer a teacher has been teaching, the more frequently I see sad expressions and how everything has changed so much. Behaviors are chaotic, and teaching isn’t the same. Students run the halls, throw chairs, and respond with anger and frustration when games are not allowed that day. Yet, who is to blame? I can see why teachers rely on the deceptive philosophy to entice students with rewards in order to keep them motivated and to do well. However, as students become older, their reward for candy is usually no longer a motivator, but the teachers still have tricks.
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