One of the questionable outcomes of the teacher myth has been the increase in online courses at the K-12 and college levels. (Here I mean courses taught entirely online, in which students and teacher never meet face to face and much content is learned by the students on their own by reading through online content.) On the one hand, putting information online is great (if it's open content) - students all over the world who don't have access to formal education can learn from it. Teachers can use it in their own classrooms, thus avoiding reinventing the wheel more than necessary and saving them time. But I worry that it walks a dangerous line inspired by the teacher myth: teachers are unnecessary. What about role models, emotional support, and the ability to ask questions?
Anything perpetuating the idea that teachers are unnecessary also potentially supports other problematic corollaries of the teacher myth, leading to the replacement of tenured unionized teachers with lower paid adjuncts (both at the secondary and college levels). All of this contributes to the de-professionalization of the field. So while we may be pro-online content and generally pro-technology, we should carefully consider the real consequences of being pro-online courses.
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