The institution is the land; the teachers are the bridges.
We previously stated that institutional power forms the majority of education. The individuals who teach institutional power are the bridges to institutional codes. While institutions are large abstract entities, teachers are the tools that idealize them. This role of being a tool can manifest in formal education as being a teacher, as much as being a member of a religion, a nationalist of a country, or in the military and state institutions where institutional culture is passed down. There are also branches such as family education or peer education that occur without the state or religious institutions. In fact, there is a public perception that family education is more important.
Parents are also products of institutions.
Yes, parents are the first teachers, but they too have been educated by social institutions. Even though the codes of being a parent or even of family life may come from folk culture, most parents cannot surpass societal institutions and cannot carve out an independent path from them. Everyone’s path originates from social institutions, and even if an independent line is drawn, social institutions will extinguish that line.
Parents are the first teachers. The first method we resort to is imitating and modeling the person closest to us. If there is no other way to learn, we resort to imitation. Therefore, even if the state has determined everything and institutions control everything, if the teacher does not build the bridge, education does not happen. Parents must also remember that they are teachers. People do not only learn in a classroom setting; they are always hearing and imitating. We must not forget that we are teachers not only to children but to everyone.
Challenges in education and teaching are beneficial.
Educating others, let alone educating humanity, may seem impossible for individuals. However, it is not as difficult as it seems; the possibility of making mistakes is proof of this. People are malleable, so they can be shaped incorrectly, and because they are flexible, they can be deformed. Of course, as they age, their flexibility decreases, but that’s why the educational environment and childhood exist. The fact that the human mind is elastic and can be coded is a plus; however, when it is not coded, a rogue state of uncodedness arises. This is why education is essential for humans, at least for the side we belong to, as modern humans are the continuation of compulsory education.
Let us warn you immediately that education is not a set of letters. If it were, schools wouldn’t be necessary. It should be remembered that propositional knowledge is as much episodic as it is semantic. In other words, we convey not only sentences but also experiences and emotions. Additionally, semantic knowledge, which draws on previous knowledge, is often useless if it is not transformed into experience. Learners should learn by modeling, see the teacher, and be exposed to the educational environment.
The greatest difficulty for the teacher lies in politics and democracy.
Simplifying everything to make it accessible has reduced quality to mediocrity. Just as quantum mechanics was simplified and explained to everyone, losing its essence. When knowledge, like religions, ideologies, and philosophies, becomes democratized, it gets degraded and corrupted. Unfortunately, knowledge is not democratic; nature does not conform to our decisions. However, the necessities of the political environment have touched knowledge, and while this may have harmed education, it has gained a broader economic and social base as a result. Although religions and ideologies may have deteriorated, they may have compensated for this through their spread.
In principle, the teacher is opposed to simplification. In religion, the afterlife is not a river flowing somewhere; in ideology, a just order is not free bread; education is not what the state provides. Yet, the size of the target audience makes them appear this way. People forget that these are analogies or tools and equate concepts with worldly events. Unfortunately, the teacher must align with the target audience and simplify their explanations politically, even though they know the truth. They do not mention the mistakes of the country’s leader regarding science, focusing instead on military victories. The American flag and anthem are outdated, better ones could be made, but the teacher acts as if there is nothing better; politically.
Simplification, though it seems bad, is inevitable.
God is not a person, but to help people understand, God was made a person. Numbers are not sticks or beans, but we are forced to present them that way. Atoms are not colorful, the world’s borders are not real, states are not innocent; yet, in education, we present them this way. In some fields, creating simple explanations and focusing on our area of expertise has become a necessity for humanity. Most of us use the simple metaphors of the public for the most important matters and even resist questioning, that is, improving them. We are so much in favor of minding our own business. While this may be bad for knowledge, it is good for getting things done. The teacher, politically and educationally, must simplify. The teacher’s power comes from producing simple explanations for learners.
The blessings of our era are a tragicomic obstacle.
As a result of the evolutionary process, meaning as a necessity of survival and of species, we rebel against our parents once we reach adolescence. We unnecessarily oppose our mothers who prepared us for life and our families, who are our everything. Thanks to this, we may have avoided reproducing with those in our close circle and gone out to create genetic diversity. Beyond reproduction, discoveries and inventions may also stem from these rebellions, despite comfort. That is, a wrong may lead to a right. This may have worked in history, but in the era of social media and globalization, not listening to what the family says could lead to becoming easy prey for predators.
Technological tools, such as social media, which are considered blessings, can lead to the exploitation of the traits that helped our species in the past. Rarely do people in the 13-21 age group use social media for their own benefit. Combined with human traits like status anxiety, sexual urges, and gullibility, it seems inevitable that the generation will be ruined. The teachers act as a safeguard for society against adolescents who don’t listen. Not only the teacher but also the adult friends of the parent can assist during adolescence in correcting the stance against the family.
Individuals want to say, “I’ve made it,” even if they haven’t.
Children want to have experiences where they feel like they’ve become individuals. Being an individual is about wanting to be useful to the grand narrative of society. Gaining status, feeling accomplished—whether fake or not—is vital for them. They desire to be explorers on the frontlines of an army without facing danger. Even if they are not soldiers, they love pretending as if they were. The teaching parent, teacher, or even a passerby should simulate this sense of accomplishment and status for the youth in order to open the barriers of education. Establishing a system of rewards and punishments, guiding them toward areas where they succeed, and helping with career planning enhances the teacher’s power.
Words are not remembered, but stance and actions are.
Since childlike minds do not question or internalize concepts, they should be told they are successful in speech. Shortcomings should be subtly felt through the teacher’s actions. Negative feedback rarely works. Individuals gravitate towards people and places that make them feel good. Unfortunately, this is an existential outcome of thousands of years. Hormones govern the mind. We must first trigger the hormones and then educate. Starting with, “You have what it takes, I love you, I’m proud of you” and following it with instructions will lead to more lasting codes.
There are millions of other factors besides the teacher.
As individual teachers, parents, relatives, or neighbors, we must not forget that there are millions of other factors. Therefore, there will also be situations that hinder our power or the transfer of that power as teachers. Let’s conclude for now with the golden rule of managing in the classroom or family. There must be something people fear to do what you say. This can be respect, knowledge, or duty; but the best is to systematically educate with behavioral conditioning. Authority without enforcement power works against the learner. No matter how powerful we are, it may not be possible to educate someone who has not learned to fear and understand limits from a young age.
Both the power of love and the power of authority are necessary.
Education is one of those areas where there is no black or white. You can neither be overly optimistic nor overly pessimistic. Both approaches backfire. What does not backfire is balance. You need to establish emotional balance between yourself and the learner. Teachers know this as the “firm but kind” approach. You should let them know that you will not hesitate to use authority if necessary, but you should prioritize the bond of love over the bond of fear. The bond of fear weakens in the absence of the teacher, while the bond of love grows stronger in teachers absence.