A Reader Writes... Teaching vs. Coaching - Part 1

In response to the 10/17/2012 post, “Teaching Vs. Coaching,” a reader writes:

SC,

All teachers are coaches.  All coaches are teachers.  Both are accountable.  I am not a her!!!

SC Response

First, I will respectfully disagree with your contention that “All teachers are coaches and all coaches are teachers.”  The post was an attempt to illustrate a difference between the two.

Second, The point of the post was not, “Are you accountable?”  

The point was “What do you measure for accountability?”

Yes, teachers and coaches are accountable.  But the teacher mindset is that it is my job to deliver the content.  If I do that, I have done my job. I can’t make students learn so don’t hold me accountable to student performance.

The coach mindset is that the better I prepare my students the better they perform. Student success is the  ultimate measure of the effectiveness of my efforts.

Just as there are teachers on courts and fields, there are coaches in classrooms and lecture halls. I believe that our students are best served by educators who possess a coaching mindset. 

Finally, as for “Her,” that was simply my attempt to avoid male centric singular pronouns. I meant no offense.  

Think. Work. Achieve.

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