The development of Unprofesionalism

The theory I am about to expound is pretty general. However, for the sake of simplicity, let us assume I am talking about teachers.

Your development as a teacher tends to pass through the following stages:

Stage 1 - Amateur

You know the theory.. or well, at least some of it. You prepare for hours for each class.. and then go in front of the class - and fail. Miserably at first. Very miserably. Hours of preparation seem like a complete waste, because the problems you prepared for did not arise, while some you could not have seen in your wildest nightmares did. You feel like you want to crawl into a deep dark cave never to return.

However, this is not really an option since the next class is in 2 hrs. Or the next day. So you are kind of forced to push through that phase. It's hard, but it is important to acknowledge that most everyone goes through this phase and that it is of crucial importance, as people learn more from their mistakes than they do from their successes.

Stage 2 - Professional

At some point you stop failing miserably. And then, a bit later you realize that most of the classes are going more-or less ok. According to plan, as you would say, as you still prepare for each class. However, you now have enough experience to prepare for the right things, and to handle the occasional unexpected events - since you have had a lot of practice at both the preparation and at handling the unexpected (in stage 1).

(Small note - in case you do not have a creepy and horrible stage 1, you will probably lack the skills to handle the unexpected stuff when it does finally happen. So it is better to get it out of the way in the beginning, or you might get a false sense of confidence)

In short, you are now equipped to do the job assigned to you, in a way that is beyond reproach, assuming you do put enough preparation and effort into the attempt. You are now a professional.

This is considered as the goal by most educational establishments such as universities of vocational schools. And it is valued very highly by the society. Saying "Im a professional" is equivalent to saying "I know what I am doing"...

Which is the truth... well, more or less.

So what's missing, one might ask?

And the answer is pretty simple. The ability to improvise. To see the big picture and to bend the rules in a way that best fits the goal of common good. "Practical wisdom", as Barry Schwartz puts it.

Lembit Mehilane, one of the most acknowledged psychiatrists in Estonia, has said that "There are three ways to deal with a patient: the correct way, the incorrect way and the humane way". The correct is the one prescribed by the manuals - which will, on average do more good than harm. The humane way, however, requires bending the rules and going beyond them for the good of the patient, but allows for a much larger net benefit if done well.

And this is true in most cases. Rules are often there to protect the world against amateurs screwing up really badly. And we equate professionalism with being able to play well within these rules. However, a true master does not need the rules anymore, and they often become a hindrance to him, stopping him from doing what is truly the right thing to do.

However - I am not arguing that the true masters should be above the rules. This is infeasible, as it is hard to certify true mastery in most fields. The rules do have a purpose and they serve it most of the time.

My take on the matter is best summed up by the quote from a logician Raymond Smullyan:
"If the people want laws, they have a perfect right to pass them. The criminal has a perfect right to break them, the police have a perfect right to arrest him, the judge has a perfect right to sentence him to jail, and so on."

A true master has to know that there are consequences to breaking the rules. This forces him to think hard whenever he does attempt to break them - as he then becomes accountable for the indiscretion. If everything does work out well, the rule-bending will likely not be punished. If things do go wrong, however, the rules give a basis on which to discipline the person.

So I'm guessing most of you think that the next stage is the "Master". Sadly, it doesn't work quite that way.

Stage 3 - Jester

Why? The song "Jester realm" by the band Twilightning sums this idea up pretty well.

"Year after year --- this amusing circus remains
The day draws near - it's only the clowns that are to change"

Before you can really start bending the rules, you first have to push the limits and master everything you can do within the rules, as well as to test out the rules themselves and see where the limits really are. But this forces you to abandon the safe confines of professionalism where you could operate well without much fear of failure, and instead demands you work on the stuff you are not yet adept at - trying novel and unconventional teaching and grading methods, teaching in another context and so on.

However, this puts you in a different position socially and requires you
"To trade a crown in for a hat with tiny bells"

With each new thing you try, the initial risk of failure is pretty high - so you need to be willing to make mistakes, and have a healthy attitude towards them. After all, mistakes are there for you to learn things from them. But you need to drop the image of yourself as a professional, who is sure to succeed, and at least for a time accept that you can and will fail. Regularly. Because if you don't, you're not doing it right.

I have yet to see a master who got to where he was without a few major failures on his path. And all of them say that the failures played a significant role in their development. We learn more (and faster) from mistakes than we do from successes. So why fight it.

This stage is also there to develop the responsibility. Because, as mentioned, failures will happen, and you will be held accountable for them at some point. And yes, you will then realize that you might have gone too far. But you then know not to go that far again. And to be more careful next time. Nevertheless, it makes sense to push the limits in small increments, so that when you do finally go over the top, you do so only by a small margin, which will probably mean no irreversible damage has been done yet so you can still make good.

And you should, because moral development is paramount in becoming a master - you will have to make decisions as to when to bend the rules - and you should only do so if it is for the good of the world and never for purely selfish needs.

Another important point to make is that you also need to keep pushing your own limitations alongside with the social norms. To forget who you think you are and to test out the real you, by putting yourself in new situations that possibly even threaten your sense of identity.
"Lose your mind and lose your personality
Step inside and see how foolish things can be"

Again, this allows you to confidently deal with the new frontiers and unexpected situations, since you have a strong inner foundation on which to fall back on should the need arise. Because castles made of sand can be very beautiful, but they usually vanish once the tides come in. But you need to be left standing in the midst of adversity - and to do that, you need to see what remains once the tide has washed the beach clean. And - not all of it might be pretty. But knowing who you are is essential to becoming a master - because no two masters are the same, and to develop a style suitable to yourself, you first need to know who you yourself are.

Stage 4 - Master

If you are lucky, then after a few (~10) years of self-exploration, practice, mistakes and limit-probing you finally do develop your own distinct style of dealing with the chaos of your chosen field, doing so with creativity, enthusiasm and in such a way as to serve the greater good and without harming yourself in the process. You not only know, but feel what the right thing to do is in all the situations, and what its possible consequences are. That is what I mean by true mastery, or true unprofessionalism.

Sadly, only very few ever get there. I only hope I'm still on the right path, though.