Teaching Isn’t About How Much Fun The Teacher Has

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Opponents of the science of learning sometimes present “but it’s less fun to teach that way” as though it were a counter-argument.

Just like surgery isn’t about how much fun the surgeon has, teaching isn’t about how much fun the teacher has.

If education is to become a rigorous discipline then it has to begin with the premise of maximizing student learning per unit practice time. That is the only thing that matters.

And if you’re in the field of education for the right reasons, then the methods that maximize student learning will be the ones that most uplift your soul.

(This generalizes: When you’re in the right career field, you focus on outcomes, and the techniques to maximize outcomes are the ones that most uplift your soul. What makes you feel fulfilled is progress towards a goal, not the inherent pleasure of the task at hand.)

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