There’s a popular saying in education: “Everyone is an expert in teaching because everyone has been a student.” This is a true phenomenon. Many people think they know the right way to teach their child, the right way to teach themselves, the right way to write a test: “My child doesn’t learn that way. You have to…,” “I can’t do an oral test, give me…,” or any number of other criticisms that sound helpful but aren’t always. Of course, it’s important to express concerns, demand accommodations if you have some form of disability and take it up with administration if the teacher is unfair or unwilling to offer reasonable assistance.
Teachers want their students to learn, but they have training and hopefully the drive to constantly improve. You don’t know what they know.
I’ve realized that this presumptuous behavior likely extends to other fields as well. As much as teachers and student-teachers like to think that our problems are unique, misguided arrogance isn’t an experience we get to call our own.
Doctors have to put up with all manner of WebMD experts, fad dieters, and people who think local honey cures allergies.
That’s not to say that it’s not perfectly fine to use reputable sources on the internet to look up drug symptoms and interactions, learn more about your diagnosis or find a supportive forum of people with similar conditions. Formulating your own diagnosis and treatment without the years of experience a doctor has can be not only
frustrating for your doctor, but also potentially dangerous to your health.
What about in life though? When is it okay to take what you learn on the internet about a complex subject and pretend to know what you’re talking about?
Can men understand women’s issues enough to tell women about how severe or insignificant their issues are? Can white people understand the plight of black people enough to tell them that they’re not oppressed or “you just have to work hard to be respected?” Can cisgender people tell transgender people that they’re just confused?
Through the internet and social media, people are exposed to the experiences of many different people from many different places which is absolutely fantastic. It’s great that people are talking about so many social issues, but don’t assume you know everything. That is, listen to what other people say about what they know and speak on what you know.
Have empathy for their struggle, do all of your liking and sharing to pass on what they say, but don’t speak over them.
Don’t tell them that you know how to live their life, just as you wouldn’t tell someone whose job you don’t do how to do their job. You are not an expert.
Daniel Hammer is a senior education major from Horn Lake.
