In 1969 Neil Postman and Charles Weingartner published a book that challenged the established educational system entitled Teaching as a Subversive Activity. My fiancé was an education major at the time and was assigned the reading as part of her course work. I paid little notice of it, although I was slightly concerned with anything like “Subversive Activity,” in the title. After all, this was the late 1960’s on a major mid-western university campus. If you knew my fiancé, who is now my wife you would laugh at the thought of her becoming some kind of radical.

I am a professional coach continually looking for ways my coaching skills can be applied in the arena of executive and leadership development. I’m really not sure why, but I remembered that book not long ago. I found a used copy and began to explore it. The authors would be disappointed in the educational industry as it has evolved since that time. I have often thought that our educational system needed to be re-invented. Instead of freeing up students and teachers to pursue the goal of learning how to learn, the educational industry has become encumbered by layers of administration, lofty teaching goals and hoped for outcomes. We have simplified everything to the point that now we more or less “teach the test”. This so collective aptitude scores can reach levels that satisfy political and funding interests. (This, of course, is my personal take on the current educational industrial complex).

Postman and Weingartner would, however, be encouraged by the burgeoning growth of the professional coaching industry. With little exception, what the authors are describing in Teaching as a Subversive Activity are the elements of a relationship between coach and client. They called for a new type of teacher and modes of instruction as well as measures of success. They were, unwittingly, describing professional coaching.

So, by association, I believe that we could describe coaching as just such a subversive activity. As Postman and Weingartner sought to shake up the educational industry, I believe professional coaching can do the same in our culture, the business and corporate world, and virtually any human organization. Coaching is a subversive activity that creates greater competence in those who encounter it.

Take Chapter 3, titled “The Inquiry Method.” Most graduates of any Coaching Essentials class will recognize the parallels of coaching techniques with what Postman and Weingartner refer to as the inquiry method of learning, in essence a return to the teaching style of Socrates. His teaching was essentially centered on process. He used his message as his method. Good teachers should similarly use questions as the primary form of discourse; they rarely tell students what they think they ought to learn. And they seldom accept a single statement as an answer to a question. To dig deeper, coaches will ask, “What else?” The authors contend that learning how to learn is the object of good teaching.

The inquiry method requires that the teacher avoid acting as judge of the quality of ideas expressed. Lessons develop from the responses of students and not from a previously determined “logical” structure. Coaches would say that this is ”client focused.” In a following chapter entitled “The New Teacher,” Postman and Weingartner describe the characteristics of this new kind of teacher. They would limit each teacher to three declarative sentences per class, and 15 interrogatives. And further, they would prohibit teachers from asking any questions they already know the answers to. This is an adage in professional coaching as well.

Postman and Weingartner describe teaching as a process, making a distinction between teaching and learning. This distinction is similar to coaching and the results achieved by their clients. As it is often stated in my own school of professional coaching, the coach manages the process; the client manages the progress (learning). Teachers and coaches together must focus on and trust the process. The intended end result for both is a change in behavior of the student and client. That change comes when the student and the coaching client become better learners; when they ask questions more frequently, and increase the “relevance and cogency of their questions.” They become better learners when they become more willing to modify judgments; when they modify or change their positions when data warrant such change; when they increase their skills in observation, classifying, generalizing; when they increase tolerance for diverse answers; when they increase their ability to apply generalizations, attitudes, and information to novel situations. The end game is much the same for teachers and coaches alike: they seek to increase the ability of their students and clients to move forward without them.

One last point to connect how this “radical approach” to teaching and professional coaching are on parallel tracks. The authors state that the best time to learn something is when you need it. In coaching we talk about “just in time” learning. Learning enduring executive or leadership skills as you learn to solve immediate problems is a powerful process. Postman and Weingartner site that the need for this type of learning is because of the rapid changes in the environment. This sentiment was written in 1969. That was 6 years before the first lap-top computer called the IBM 5100 was released using a tape drive and weighing 55 pounds. If such learning was seen as important at that time, it can only be more imperative today. Sadly the educational industry has seemed to turn its back on inquiry learning. The good news is that inquiry is at the heart of professional coaching.

Given the parameters proposed by Postman Weingartner, it is clear that, even more so than teaching in today’s environment, coaching is indeed a “subversive activity”. Professional coaching is a powerful tool that helps executives “subvert attitudes, beliefs, and assumptions that foster chaos and uselessness.” Professional coaching enables clients to challenge the status quo of problem solving, and generate creative solutions using the unique talents and resources that they have on hand. Professional coaching can help create more productive and personally satisfying opportunities in the lives it impacts. Coaching clients become better learners by finding ways to solve other work and personal problems using the tools they learned through the coaching process.

It is my strong suggestion that Teaching As A Subversive Activity be used as a major resource for both coaches and teachers alike who wish to transform the lives of the people and the culture they engage. Its message may have been ”subversive” some 45 years ago, but it is more relevant today, with the growth of the profession of coaching as proof.

In 1969 Neil Postman and Charles Weingartner published a book that challenged the established educational system entitled Teaching as a Subversive Activity. My fiancé was an education major at the time and was assigned the reading as part of her course work. I paid little notice of it, although I was slightly concerned with anything like “Subversive Activity,” in the title. After all, this was the late 1960’s on a major mid-western university campus. If you knew my fiancé, who is now my wife of some 45 years, you would laugh at the thought.

I am a professional coach continually looking at how my coaching skills can be applied in the arena of executive and leadership development. I’m really not sure why, but I remembered that book not long ago. I found a used copy and began to explore it. The authors would be disappointed in the educational industry as it has evolved since that time. I have often thought that our educational system needed to be re-invented. Instead of freeing up students and teachers to pursue the goal of learning how to learn, the educational industry has become encumbered by layers of administration, lofty teaching goals and hoped for outcomes. We have simplified everything now that we merely “teach the test” so that collective aptitude scores can reach levels that satisfy political and funding interests. (This, of course, is my personal take on the current educational industrial complex).

Postman and Weingartner would, however, be encouraged by the burgeoning growth of the professional coaching industry. With little exception, what the authors are describing in Teaching as a Subversive Activity are the elements of the relationship between coach and client. They are calling for a new type of teacher and modes of instruction as well as measures of success. They are, unwittingly, describing professional coaching.

So, by association, I believe that coaching is indeed a subversive activity. As Postman and Weingartner sought to shake up the educational industry, I believe professional coaching can do the same in our culture, the business and corporate world, and virtually any human organization. Coaching is a subversive activity that creates greater competence in those who encounter it.

Take Chapter 3, titled “The Inquiry Method.” Most graduates of any Coaching Essentials class will recognize the parallels of coaching techniques with what Postman and Weingartner refer as the inquiry method of learning, in essence a return to the teaching style of Socrates. His teaching was essentially about process. He used his message as his method. Good teachers should use questions as the primary form of discourse; they rarely tell students what they think they ought to learn. And they seldom accept a single statement as an answer to a question. To dig deeper, coaches will ask, “What else?” The authors contend that learning how to learn is the object of good teaching.

The inquiry method requires that the teacher avoid acting as judge of the quality of ideas expressed. Lessons develop from the responses of students and not from a previously determined “logical” structure. Coaches would say that this is ”client focused.” In a following chapter entitled “The New Teacher,” Postman and Weingartner describe the characteristics of the new kind of teacher. They would limit each teacher to three declarative sentences per class, and 15 interrogatives. And further, they would prohibit teachers from asking any questions they already know the answers to. This is an adage in professional coaching as well.

Postman and Weingartner describe teaching as a process, making a distinction between teaching and learning. This distinction is similar to coaching and the results achieved by their clients. As it is often stated in my own school of coaching, the coach manages the process; the client manages the progress. Teachers and coaches together must focus on and trust the process. The end result for both is a change in behavior of the student and client. That change comes when the student and the coaching client become a better learners; when they ask questions more frequently, and increase the “relevance and cogency of their questions.” They become better learners when they become more willing to modify judgments; when they modify or change their positions when data warrant such change; when they increase their skills in observation, classifying, generalizing; when they increase tolerance for diverse answers; when they increase their ability to apply generalizations, attitudes, and information to novel situations. The end game is much the same for teachers and coaches alike. They seek to increase the ability of their charges to move forward without them.

One last point to connect how this “radical approach” to teaching and professional coaching are on parallel tracks. The authors state that the best time to learn something is when you need it. In coaching we talk about “just in time” learning. Learning executive or leadership skills as you learn to solve immediate problems is powerful. Postman and Weingartner site the need for this type of learning is because of the rapid changes in the environment. This sentiment was written in 1969. That was 6 years before the first lap-top computer called the IBM 5100 was released using a tape drive and weighing 55 pounds. If such learning was seen as important at that time, it can only be more imperative today. Sadly the educational industry has seemed to turn its back on inquiry learning. The good news is that inquiry is at the heart of professional coaching.

Given the parameters proposed by Postman Weingartner, it is clear that, even more so than teaching in today’s environment, coaching is indeed a “subversive activity”. Professional coaching is a powerful tool that helps executives “subvert attitudes, beliefs, and assumptions that foster chaos and uselessness.” Professional coaching enables clients to challenge the status quo of problem solving, generate creative solutions, using the unique talents and resources available they have on hand, and create more productive and personally satisfying opportunities in their lives. They become better learners by finding ways to solve other work and personal problems using the tools they learned through the coaching process.

It is my strong suggestion that Teaching As A Subversive Activity be used as a major resource for both coaches and teachers alike who wish to transform the lives of the people and the culture they engage. Its message may have been ”subversive” some 45 years ago, but it is more relevant today, with the growth of the profession of coaching as proof.