What a great opening paragraph. From someone with a music background, I love musical analogies and your poetic comparison is most fitting. We do derive our success from our students and their success. Success is then perpetuated by all of those we touch. It is so important for us to instill the “love of learning” to our students, so moving from a teacher centered model to student based is a strong step in developing independence and self-directed learning for our students. I know it is not easy. Wonderful post. Thanks
Anne Alsup wrote:
The teacher, like the conductor of an orchestra is not the true power in the classroom. The teacher derives their power from the success of the student. Some teachers may see their role as enlightening their students with their vast knowledge, but I disagree. Perhaps more can be learned from the conductor.
One of the most difficult issues that I faced during my action research project as I moved my classes from the traditional teacher-centered classroom to a student-centered model was the role of the instructor. Almost universally, students perceive the role of the teacher as supplying knowledge and answering questions, a notion that has been perpetuated by an arena of high-stakes testing. While this methodology has merit for the conveyance of basic facts and principles, it falls short of moving the student to transference of the principles at higher levels of intellectual and cognitive application.
It is not the conductor's role to play the violin, only to direct the violinist. Like the conductor, it is not the teacher's role to answer the question, but to ask the question and point the student in the direction of knowledge. My research indicated that the teacher should literally say nothing that would interfere with the students' thought process. Students should be encouraged to develop the ideas, based on their previous knowledge and define the concepts for themselves. This approach transcends the power of the conductor and empowers learning to take place from any chair. Through this collaborative orchestra of thought, knowledge is generated beyond the scope of any individual effort.
Is it necessary that every student masters the laws of physics, understand Shakespearean literature or solve a quadratic equation? I think we know better. Our world would be a better place if each child could discover and develop their passion. Establishing graduation requirements and competency testing does little to promote passion for learning. It is time to apply Rule #6 to the educational arena. Yes, we should have some basic requirements and children should be exposed to wide variety of educational opportunities, but the sooner we help children develop areas of interest, the better chance we have lessening the control of the calculating self and free the child to find the central self. Imagine a universe of possibility where each person is able to express their inner desires in a positive direction by contributing to their world. A world in which each person participates in the part that they were born to play and plays it with unbridled passion.
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