TES columnist Tom Bennett last week wrote a blog on why teachers need better subject knowledge (bit.lySubjectKnow). Preaching to the choir, you might think. Not necessarily.

On Twitter, a couple of people used sports analogies to describe why they believed it wasn’t particularly necessary for teachers to know more than their students. @derek_conway1 said: “Just to be awkward, Mark Spitz’s coach couldn’t swim.”

@mikercameron, although professing an instinctive fondness for the idea, added: “On the other hand, none of Tiger Woods’ coaches ever won a pro event.” And @Ezzy_Moon pointed out that it was a lot easier for people to get more subject knowledge at secondary level, where they taught in only one area: “Testing is the end goal, not basic knowledge. At primary, teachers can’t be experts in all subjects.”

However, others pointed out that better subject knowledge could lead to better teaching. @MrTBakerGHS said: “Part of the fun of going over subject knowledge is that I always learn something extra or a different way of approaching it.”

And whereas @NuttySalt said, “Knowledge can be improved but can you teach passion?”, @TheRivetDaddy countered: “The best teachers I had OOZED passion for their subject. Tough to do if you don’t know it.” Sarah Cunnane

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