A teacher ed professor (who had been in the business a long time) once pointed out in a meeting that some researcher had good and bad teachers teach with all kinds of methodologies, and guess what? it didn't make a difference what teaching methodologies they used. Good teachers were successful and bad teachers were not.
In the same way, I suspect that some parents will hardly lift a finger for their kids, and others will do anything (and more). And (most importantly) some kids will do well and others will have a hard time.
My mother gave a
lecture about the rights of parents (50+ years ago). She was a strong believer that kids shouldn't rule their parents, and also that the parents need to listen to themselves rather than the "experts."
I feel like I'm sinking in this picture. And that the tar balls are all over... but they are kind of illuminators rather than poison.
Have a nice day!
6 comments:
You are touching on an ongoing conversation in our house, without reaching conclusions. H.
Hard questions: how much to give and in what matter? And for whose benefit?
Monks say that they beg to give people an opportunity to give.
So if I give my life to my child and they give their life to their child and on and on... no one has a life.
I like the part about good and bad teachers. I've been reading a book I borrowed from Joe - The Courage to Teach, by P Palmer. Talks about teaching culture, which I guess is mindset. Objective/expert model vs subjective/relational/inquiry/dialoguing model. Anyway, I'm thinking a good teacher sets an open-minded, ok-to-be-sloppy environment for the students, and the parent/kid relationship is also heavily influenced by the degree of openness.
I love the picture! So artsy!
I know good teachers who are as strict as they come. But they are able to transfer knowledge, and a love and a understanding of the subject. Others (one of my favorites) had no obvious lesson plans. We would just write down questions on an index card. Just like good and bad meals... they come in all shapes and sizes.
I like the way you put it. "A love and understanding of the subject". A learning environment that inspires students to explore the subject, probably made possible because the teacher is also still open to learning. That's the openness that matters, not so much a loose format. I think my best teachers create a well-defined container with room to wander, collaborate and experiment w/in it.
Post a Comment