The original phrase is pretty lame anyway. If you can’t do a thing, how can you be expected to teach it? I’d rather have a teacher that actually knows how to do the thing they’re trying to teach me.
The saying isn’t trying to convey that people who can’t do something are well suited to teach it, it’s disparaging teachers by saying if they were any good at what they teach they would be doing it instead of teaching it.
Probably better phrasing would be “Those who used to do, teach”. As in, teachers/coaches might be people who due to any number of circumstances can’t participate in doing the thing directly, but have experience in it.
The original phrase is pretty lame anyway. If you can’t do a thing, how can you be expected to teach it? I’d rather have a teacher that actually knows how to do the thing they’re trying to teach me.
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The saying isn’t trying to convey that people who can’t do something are well suited to teach it, it’s disparaging teachers by saying if they were any good at what they teach they would be doing it instead of teaching it.
Oh, I get its point, I just think it’s a nonsensical phrase.
It’s a very American thing, where we don’t value teachers. It’s nonsensical in reality, but it’s the way America operates.
Probably better phrasing would be “Those who used to do, teach”. As in, teachers/coaches might be people who due to any number of circumstances can’t participate in doing the thing directly, but have experience in it.
The saying itself is a pithy dig at teachers, it’s meant to demean their skill at what they’re teaching.
It’s a witticism, not a measured statement of truth.
Doesn’t mean we can’t make it into one