You Know

I have a number of friends that are teachers. They have accepted the mighty responsibility of educating today's youth. They teach lessons about math, english, science, technology, etc. While battling obstacles that come with the territory, like student behavioral issues, parental apathy/coddling, and administration expectations, there is another cultural obstacle that is perhaps greater than the others and growing in size.

Implicit in teaching/learning is the assumption that you can know something. But you may be surprised by the amount of literature produced to date that argues the opposite - an idea embraced and gaining momentum in our post-modern culture. They say, "You cannot know anything for certain." If you cannot certainly know anything, then the implications are immense. All teaching is futile because there are no facts to pass on. There is no such thing as learning because learning is the cognition of facts. There are no correct answers on the test.

But it is a movement without legs. Their argument is self defeating. Do they know for certain that, "you cannot know anything for certain?" They are essentially saying, "I know with certainty that you cannot know anything with certainty."

Well I'm certain that I have learned from some excellent teachers. I know my teacher friends are engaged in meaningful and important work. And I will teach my daughter everything I know.