What is teaching - How to teach - Articles about Education

Quite frankly,
teachers are the only profession
that teach our children
- Dan Quayle

Many people think of teaching as the act of standing in front of a classroom, relaying information to another individual, or of explaining an issue. They are partially right. Webster's Ninth Dictionary defines teaching as "Noun: the act, practice, or profession of a teacher; something taught, as in doctrine.
Adjective: of, relating to, used for, or engaged in teaching, as in the teaching profession".

However, those definitions and explanations may not be correct in practice. Teaching should involve two sides - the teacher who relays information or explains issues, and the student who absorbs the information. If this process is incomplete or incorrect, then no real teaching has taken place - even though the teacher may have spent time, energy, effort, planning, and preparation. Call it what you will - but there is no teaching unless there is learning.

Learning in a Yeshiva

Some people announce that they "learn" in a Yeshiva. Everybody involved certainly hopes that this is indeed the case.

However, learning in a Yeshiva implies that the information that has been transmitted by the teacher or the Rebbe has been absorbed by the student. Unfortunately, this is not necessarily the case.

Perhaps it would be more modest to announce that "I study in a Yeshiva."

So why is the statement about "learning" in a Yeshiva so common?

In Yiddish and Yeshivish, the expression "lernen in a Yeshiva" means "studying" in a Yeshiva. The Yeshivish language that draws heavily upon Yiddish, Hebrew, and some other languages.

If the rest of the context is Yeshivish, then the criticism is unwarranted. However, the sentence is removed from its context, then it is better to say that the person studies in a Yeshiva.