Warning: (gentle) rant coming!
A phrase that I hear a lot in education is “it’s just good teaching.” Ugh.
Not only do I find that phrase super annoying, but it’s also totally inaccurate! To me, it shows that whoever says that doesn’t have a clue what they’re talking about.
Here are just a couple of reasons as to why I think “it’s just good teaching” is the worst thing that we can say in education:
- First of all, good teaching is an actual thing! And it looks like this:
- Explicit instruction
- Teach and model
- Guided practice
- Application
- Feedback throughout
That is good teaching. That is teaching explicitly. That works!
- Second, when we say things like “it’s just good teaching,” that gives cover for some questionable teaching techniques. If you have a technique that really works, call the technique by name!
Don’t diminish good teaching and don’t dismiss the hard work of good teachers!
Okay, rant: over.
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