We are not teaching to hear the sound of our voice, we are dedicating a service for the benefit of our students.
By Lefteris Heretakis
Inspired by the writings and spirit of John Ruskin
“Education is the leading human souls to what is best, and making what is best out of them.” John Ruskin
In an age that prizes speed and specialism, it has become far too common to assume that mastery of a subject alone qualifies one to teach it. But as Ruskin warned us, knowledge without virtue, without intent, and without service to the common good is a hollow triumph.
Teaching, at its noblest, is an act of stewardship.
And just as a master craftsman must understand the grain of the wood before shaping it, so too must the teacher understand the nature of the learner before imparting knowledge. This is not a romantic ideal, it is a practical necessity.
I say this as one who has walked the path. Undertaking a postgraduate teaching qualification did not simply sharpen my practice, it transformed my purpose. It taught me not how to perform knowledge, but how to cultivate it in others. But such transformation does not arise from ticking boxes or fulfilling bureaucratic demands. It must come from a deeper place, from the desire to serve, to uplift, and to shape human beings with care and clarity.
Knowing a Subject is Not Enough
To teach without understanding pedagogy is like constructing a cathedral without first understanding the soil it stands upon. The edifice may look fine for a time, but it will crack under the weight of its own assumptions.
Ruskin believed the greatest teacher is not the one who instructs, but the one who elevates. And elevation requires method. It requires us to know how learning occurs, why some students falter, and what is required to guide them. It requires a humility that says: “My knowledge is not the goal, their growth is.”
This is the foundation of pedagogy. Without it, our teaching may be elegant but empty, authoritative but aloof. We may be speaking, but not heard. Present, but not felt.
The Design of Teaching
In design, we are trained to create with the user in mind, to understand needs, context, emotion, and meaning. The teacher must do the same. Teaching is a form of design, and the learner is its centre.
Pedagogy, then, becomes a form of craftsmanship. It is not a technique to be deployed, but a principle to be lived. It teaches us to sculpt the learning environment with intention, to design with empathy, to prototype ideas, and reflect on failures.
Ruskin urged us to “see clearly, and speak plainly.” The teacher, like the designer, must strip away ornament and ego to make space for clarity, connection, and transformation.
Teaching is an Ethical Act
All true teaching is moral. It is a contract of care. It is not the projection of one’s voice into a room, but the quiet shaping of another’s future. And with such power comes responsibility.
Pedagogy trains us to see our students not as vessels to be filled, but as minds to be awakened, hands to be guided, spirits to be strengthened. Ruskin, who championed the dignity of labour and the soul of craftsmanship, would urge us to treat teaching not as a performance but as a form of moral labour, a calling, not a convenience.
We must ask:
- Am I designing this lesson to serve them, or to satisfy myself?
- Are my assessments sharpening their judgment, or merely weighing them down?
- Have I created a space where all students can flourish, or only the ones who already know how?
Such questions are not indulgent, they are essential. They are the signs of a teacher who has moved beyond delivery into devotion.
Not All Qualifications Enlighten
Let it be said plainly: not all teaching qualifications are worthy of their name. Some, sadly, are lifeless things, more administrative than awakening, more procedural than profound. In such cases, one may complete the course, but not be changed by it.
But when a course is constructed with integrity and care, when it models the very values it teaches, it can rekindle the educator’s soul. It can restore purpose, deepen empathy, and instill the sense that teaching is not only an act of intellect, but of character.
In Ruskin’s view, “the highest reward for a person’s toil is not what they get for it, but what they become by it.” The same holds for teaching qualifications. Their true value lies not in the certificate, but in the transformation.
A Call for Sacred Craft
Let us return, finally, to the idea of teaching as sacred craft. To teach well is not to transmit data, it is to shape the conditions under which minds can awaken. It is to serve, with dignity and care, those entrusted to us. It is to know that the chalk in our hand, or the slide on our screen, holds within it not just content, but consequence.
Pedagogy is the chisel. Compassion is the polish. Practice is the grain of wood we must learn to read.
We must teach not to impress, but to inspire. Not to speak, but to listen. Not to fill time, but to fill hearts.
And above all, we must never forget:
“You may fit yourself to be a teacher, by submitting to be a learner.” John Ruskin
Where to Find More
Since its inception in 2019, Design Education Talks podcast has served as a dynamic platform for the exchange of insights and ideas within the realm of art and design education. This initiative sprang from a culmination of nearly a decade of extensive research conducted by Lefteris Heretakis. His rich background, intertwining academia, industry, and student engagement, laid the foundation for a podcast that goes beyond the conventional boundaries of educational discourse. Support the Show 👉https://www.patreon.com/thenewartschool Equipment used to produce the podcast: 👉https://kit.co/heretakis/podcasting See our work on 👉https://linktr.ee/thenewartschool Follow us on twitter at 👉@newartschool Read our latest articles at 👉https://heretakis.wordpress.com/ and 👉https://heretakis.medium.com/
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