There are two quotes which I think will best describe this article:

“The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.” (William Arthur Ward 1921-1994 scholar/author/editor/pastor and teacher).

“He who ceases to learn cannot adequately teach." (Author unknown, if you can find it i'll kiss you).

Let's go back a couple of years. I was a welding student and had 3 teachers during the same school year who would take turns teaching us on different days. The "head" teacher had been there for 17 years. The other 2 teachers had been there less than 7 years.

The class had no problems overall with the newer teachers. They were well informed and up to date on the welding and fitting industry and what would be asked of us when we got onto that actual job market. After all it hadn't really been that long since the newest teacher stopped working in "industry" and the second guy was a study-a-holic. You just could not stump the guy in any way and the respect for him was through the roof.

Now enter the 17 year teaching "veteran" as he called himself. Anyone who knows welding knows that it is a very precise and concentration oriented job.It took us a few monthes but as the school year went on we realized that his information was out of date, his effort was minimal, and he couldn't weld a straight line if he used a copper ruler. He had lost the "love of the job" therfore never physically demonstrated anything for anyone. He simply did not care anymore.

Fortunately the government gave him a warning that he had to stop teaching certain things to students as he was misinformed on some topics, and a new principal was hired the year after our course who is now making the teachers take aptitude tests.

My point is that this did indeed make more work for the other teachers, wasting their time, and misinformed some of the younger people in the class who had never worked in industry before, fortunately I had, and thank goodness because it was great filter misinformation.

The fact of the matter is he hadn't learned a thing for 17 years and he was not inspiring anyone at all. A fine example of teachers who teach because they cannot do, or simply get into the practice of repetition without research.