On the role of a teacher
Friday, February 24, 2012 at 09:17AM "I have this" is another lovely blog post written by Teacher Tom.
I agree with him on his beliefs on what the definition of a teacher is. Our role is truly to facilitate...not direct. Our job is not to show how things are done, but rather to provide experiences that allow children to determine how to do things.
Like Teacher Tom said, when children leave our program they "head off into a world of schools in which teachers are mandated to teach them a certain core curriculum of specific, standardized knowledge and skills organized grade-by-grade, year-by-year, much of which is conveyed by direct instruction." I wish it weren't so...I wish they could all be sent off to experience-based settings. However, I believe that we are sending very strong, capable children into those direct-approach settings because of the foundation we provide them: the foundation of confidence in their own ability to explore and problem solve.
Therefore, I wish even more that ALL children were given such a foundation! What a solid base they could have on which to grow and learn throughout their lives!
