art of teaching: wisdom of the hands

Wisdom of the Hands just had another stellar post on education. Go check it out and think about what we all could learn from this. I ripped the quote below from his post. It really makes me wonder where were headed in this country with education. Honestly I'm scared for my own children's future and am wondering how to continue in academia with the standardization coming our way just as it is in public schools; not to mention skill and craft being thrown out in favor of theory and the pursuit of "higher thought processes". I think people forget why were here and abandon their job in favor of chasing "power" and promoting themselves and their ego. When people's "research" gets out of balance with their "teaching" you have to question what their real motivation for being here is.

Anyway, enough ranting. Go read Wisdom of the Hands.

In his book The Teachers Hand-Book of Slöjd, Salomon wrote: 

"... it is by no means sufficient to be in possession of a certain amount of knowledge and dexterity in order to follow with success the important responsible calling of a teacher. Teaching is an art quite as difficult as any other, and for its practice certain qualifications are demanded which are far from being in the possession of all. The teacher must not only know what he has to communicate, but also how he ought to do it. Nor is this all; for if all instruction is in reality to be education, the teacher must rise from the instructor to the educator; he must not only understand how to impart knowledge and dexterity, but also how to impart both in such a manner that they make for the mental development of the pupil, especially with regard to moral training. But as we cannot give to others what we do not ourselves possess, it must necessarily follow that only he who is himself educated can have an educative influence over another. Therefore, exactly in proportion to the educative aim of the teacher does his personality enter as an important factor into the work of instruction. Now since Slöjd is to be regarded more as a means of education than a subject of instruction in the common acceptation of the term, the first demand of all made upon the teacher who undertakes it must be that he would feel himself to be an educator, and strive without ceasing to improve himself as such."