I was going to stay out of this but...
At 05:35 PM 7/11/2001 -0400, David wrote:
>On a related note (and one you'll like, I think, Louis), at what point
>does someone become a "teacher"? Does someone trying to "teach" have to
>have similar qualifications? If I try to teach someone how to swim, do I
>need to have lifeguard training? Or training to teach someone how to use
>the internet? How to budget? How to deal with life stress?
>Hmm...
>David
At what point does a piece of paper begin to be more important than the
knowledge it is suppose to represent? As a child, a friend of mine who had
no lifeguard training saved me from drowning. Many parents without official
lifeguard training teach their children to swim. Growing up, a friend with
no formal training taught me to ride a bicycle. In high school, a friend
with no formal training in psychology talked me out of suicide. Based on my
experiences with suicide, I talked friends out of it... well before having
any training in the area. I have no formal training in using the Internet,
but I teach students, faculty, and friends to use it on a regular basis. I
started teaching people to use SPSS (and other computer programs) well
before having any formal training in the software. Although I have no
formal training in finance, I've advised friends to be careful about
charging to much on their credit cards and asked them probing questions
about their spending to find ways they can improve their financial standing
by not spending money on things they don't need. I could continue, but I
think you probably see my point by now.
Just because someone doesn't have a certificate or degree in a field does
not mean they aren't qualified to offer advice. Likewise, just because
someone has the degree does not make them qualified. Many organizations
have started to develop certifications for no reason other than to protect
their own interests. In terms of "therapy", I seem to recall several past
discussion on the issue of paraprofessionals being as effective as PhDs in
many cases (not all, but many.)
Now, if someone is misrepresenting their knowledge by saying they have a
degree or certification that they don't have the issue changes to one of
fraud. But, for the person who decides that they have been successful in
life and want to help other people try to succeed in their own lives, good
for them even if they are asking people to pay them for their advice
(provided they don't misrepresent themselves and their knowledge).
Will some people be fooled into believing that astrology holds the key to
their success? Yes, and I'm sorry but there isn't a lot we can do about it
other than trying to educate people that astrology doesn't hold the answers
they want.
I have more to say on this, but not the time... I'm too busy trying to
finish a dissertation so I can get a piece of paper to prove that I'm
qualified to teach courses that I've been teaching for the past 3 years...
G. Marc Turner, MEd, Net+
Lecturer & Head of Computer Operations
Department of Psychology
Southwest Texas State University
San Marcos, TX 78666
phone: (512)245-2526
email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
