Teaching the world: Should experts impose teaching methods they consider superior or should local methods be honored?

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by Cynthia Amador

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There is no doubt that experts on teaching have a wealth of experience or training behind them, which is precisely why they are called experts. However, their experience or training may not necessarily apply to every teaching scenario the world over. No matter how experienced experts may be, their experience will have its limitations. Although the saying "experience is the best teacher" is widely accepted, we need to qualify experience as either direct or vicarious. Teaching methods are initially taught through theory then honed through practice. It is only through constant and frequent practice in a variety of situations that those teaching methods are perfected. Nonetheless, because every teaching situation is different since every student or learning group is different, no teaching method can be 100 per cent foolproof. There will always be a chance that a method, no matter how studied and mastered, will fail. Hence, the teacher whose methods were revered and respected by our grandparents might not be effective at all with our children.

Many times, teachers acquire knowledge vicariously, through research, anecdotes from other teachers, reading, and film. All the information they acquire through these means is second hand information that they might store for future reference or apply to their practice. Once applied, it becomes direct experience. But until they have adopted the method as theirs and refined it according to their teaching personalities and teaching styles, those teaching methods will not achieve optimum impact on students. Indeed, many teachers have claimed expertise from observation and other vicarious forms of acquiring information. That expertise can be legitimate simply because extensive research offers credibility, but we should not forget that research can also be purely theoretical.

How does all this affect the learning communities where they must practice? Too often, experts descend on communities in need of help, bringing with them their voluminous knowledge and lengthy credentials. In their zeal to help, these experts forget that the community they are working with is not the same community in which they learned their trade and techniques. The most basic rules of communication are ignored in these situations: differences in language or communication styles and differences in culture must be considered so that the medium of the message is effectively adapted to the receiver. In this case, the medium is the teaching method, the receiver the learning community. If the experts unwittingly violate cultural norms in their efforts to help, they defeat their purpose by offending their target community. This will pretty much shut down future communication channels.

Educators need to take a cue from anthropologists and sociologists. Jane Goodall would be an excellent example for educators to emulate. Instead of imposing her knowledge on the community of chimpanzees to teach them how to communicate, she lived among them and learned their habits and behavior, then used similar habits and behavior to communicate with them. Clearly, no amount of lecturing would have made her succeed.

Let me use another analogy. If the experts want to impose their methods without studying local methods that they can assimilate and integrate into their teaching styles, then they would be akin to the circus ringmaster who cracks a whip and trains all sorts of animals to perform tricks. Most of the time, the animals will do exactly what he wants them to do because of immediate rewards or the infliction of severe punishment. Whatever the motive, they do not always look happy doing it. In fact, many times, the animals turn on the ringmaster, reverting to their natural instincts. This might be exactly what experts are asking for if they were to impose their own methods rather than honor local methods. By incurring the wrath of the natives, they might end up participating in missions of martyrdom rather than enlightenment among all parties involved.

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