Branford Marsalis on students
December 22, 2008 § 1 Comment
A famous Jazz saxophonist speaks his mind about students. Is he being unfair?
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millier's musings
Blogito Ergo Sum – I blog therefore I am. Coffee/cycling-obsessed clarinettist. I work for WASO, but views expressed here are my own.
When I was in college, one of my professors made the statement that he was only talking to one or two people in any class he taught. It was true, and it’s always been that way. Most people are not going to put forth any effort if they don’t have to. It is a constant state in nature. The path of least resistance is a survival function. However, if a teacher engages their students’ minds, if they can make the class exciting, and interesting, and provoke their passions, they will want to excel.
The problem in education is that it pays squat. So are we going to have the majority of teachers being the top minds in their fields? Professors who not only know their subject matter, but are able to transmit that knowledge to their students in a way that is effective? No.
Education is not important to the government. All authoritarian governments, such as our own, work to ensure their population is not educated. And the best way to ensure that is to make teaching an unpleasant bureaucratic nightmare, and slap low pay on top of it. This is not going to attract the best and the brightest.
I apologize for such a long comment, it just struck a chord in me. Thank you for inspiring that chord. Peace, Jim