Teaching is an art form. My science teacher at school knew lots of facts, but had no idea how to make those facts interesting or exciting.
I am convinced all children will learn if they are interested or excited enough about their subject, and as evidence I only need to think of children who don’t do well at school but who are capable of mastering complicated instructions and activities in connection with the latest game on their games consul.
I was reminded of this the other day as I remembered a biological fact taught to me over sixty years ago, after leaving school. My tutor said, “The alimentary canal is a continuous 30 feet long tube which begins at your lips and ends at your anus with a bag of sh..t”.
Nothing remarkable about what he said, and I’m sure I would have forgotten those facts long ago if he had not continued, “so when you kiss your girlfriend, you’re creating a 60 feet long tube with a bag of sh..t at both ends”.
Crude? Possibly. Amusing? Probably. Memorable? Definitely.
If I can still remember the average alimentary canal is about 30 feet long after 60 odd years, I applaud his teaching methods.
There are lots of facts which I must have been taught throughout my life, but which are now long lost from my memory. On the other hand, there are loads of facts I still find easy to remember long after I was first taught them. The difference is not how important the facts are, but how well the facts were taught. Dry and seemingly boring facts which are somehow transformed by a teacher or tutor into something exciting and interesting are remembered forever, and I am eternally grateful to those who learned both facts and art need to be combined for teaching to become succesful.
Teaching is an art form and alimentary my dear Watson.
