Teacher or educator?
Posted on: September 18, 2012
Last week I reflected on the first world problem of deciding whether one was a teacher on an educator.
Judging from the hits this post received, it seems to have struck a nerve or tapped the pulse of teachers/educators.
I still think that it is important to make a distinction between a teacher and an educator as well as what each does. So I have consolidated some of my thoughts on the differences between the two.
- Everyone can teach. Few can educate.
- A teacher teaches; an educator reaches.
- A teacher typically focuses on curriculum and assessment. An educator focuses on development and evaluation.
- In the curricular race, a teacher perspires. In the journey of lifelong learning, an educator inspires. (An educator goes the extra mile.)
- A teacher works with content. An educator deals with people.
- Teaching is a job. Educating is a calling.
- Some teachers do this to earn. Educators do this to learn (about themselves, their learners, better ways to inspire, etc).
- A teacher might network locally. An educator is connected globally (and thinks and acts that way too).
Unlike the photo I used to represent the distinction and the dichotomy of my phasing, I do not think that teaching and educating are mutually exclusive. Like the symbol, I think one blends into the other. But I do think that teachers need to aspire to be educators.
Sources of inspiration:
- Teacher or educator? by Steve Wheeler
- The Role of the Educator by Stephen Downes
6 Responses to "Teacher or educator?"
2 | Irina V.
May 9, 2013 at 11:22 pm
This is a very interesting post. It got me thinking very hard about where I place between these two distinctions. As a fully practicing kindergarten teacher, I’d like to believe that I’m an educator.
Dr Ashley Tan
May 10, 2013 at 12:05 am
Or you might see the teacher-educator distinction more as a continuum even though I have presented it as a dichotomy. We might be anywhere between the two depending on the criterion or circumstance. 
Irina V.
May 10, 2013 at 1:34 pm
You’re right. Point taken. Being an educator is not any ‘more’ superior than being a teacher. Both are vital and should be employed in the right circumstance.
Dr Ashley Tan
May 10, 2013 at 1:41 pm
Thanks for visiting and reflecting. BTW, congratulations on starting a new blog!
October 14, 2012 at 8:46 pm
[...] Wheeler’s blog Learning with the e´s and Ashley Tan’s blog Another Dot in the Blogosphere shed light on the issue. In reading them, I was struck by the strength of this phrase: “A [...]