I would have to say that subject knowledge is a small part of being an early years teacher. It may be different with senior years teachers, as some have pointed out, but to me for being an early years teacher it would be in I CAN TEACH. It's not always what you know, or know how to do. Like hockey coaches, not all were great hockey players, but they know the game and know HOW TO COACH/teach.
During my student teaching placement, I had this very thing brought to my attention. My cooperating teacher asked me to teach a class on something I wasn't familiar with. I was to teach the grade 8 class during my last week, how to cup clap. He gave me a sheet and told me to look it up on youtube, and said "you may never get it, but can you teach it". That stuck with me the whole time, as I watched the video and attempted cup clapping, it was pretty difficult. The day came that I was to teach the class to cup clap, so I taught them how. I did not show them as I could not do it myself, I broke it down into steps for them to try and then to put it all together. They all got it quicker than I did, and some much better than others. Some so good they had a little competition and I gave some treats to the winner.
It was because of this that I believe that it is more than just what you know that makes one a good teacher, it is more about can you teach, can you relate to the students, understand what they understand and build on that.
Like discussed in class some teachers know the subject and that is all, I had a grade 9 math teacher like that, was a math expert, but could not teach.
Professional knowledge 1 - Subject knowledge 0!
Ken, you got me. I totally had to look up cup clapping on youtube. It would have been great, if you included a link in your blog to ease my journey!! That is SO cool. As soon as I'm finished reading blogs, I'm going to try it. Thanks for sharing this example. It's perfect for this topic.
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