Teaching
is the practice of fostering a student’s capacity to learn. It
is, therefore, a two way street and a joint effort between teacher and
student. Learning is best served when teachers create courses that both
expose students to materials relevant to the subject at hand and that
afford students opportunities to think critically about the subject.
Students can actively participate in the learning process by formulating
meaningful questions about the material that will allow them to work
with their fellow students towards a clearer understanding of the material.
Such questions can also provide the teacher with the necessary feedback to better
explain the material to the class. Once students have mastered the basic
materials and concepts, they can think freely about materials and make
the abstract connections between facts and ideas that truly amount to
learning.
In addition
to providing the best sources of information for a given subject, teachers
can create courses that pose new modes of thought and models of self-motivated
learning for students to apply in other subjects and beyond the academic
experience. By recognizing new ways of thinking and making connections
among the different courses they take, students move beyond merely accumulating
credits to acquiring an education.
Given the
shared responsibilities of teacher and students in the learning experience,
the “business” model of the student as consumer and teacher
as service provider is not applicable to education. The relationship
between the teacher and the student is not a business proposition or
a commodifiable transaction, but rather a joint endeavor whose goal
is the student’s education.
Finally,
learning best takes place in an atmosphere of mutual respect, where
teachers recognize students’ diverse backgrounds and levels of
preparation and construct courses that accommodate a reasonable range
of preparedness, and where students accept necessary limitations of
the classroom and work within the framework the teacher has devised
to make the best use of learning opportunities. Students who have mastered
both factual material and abstract concepts, and who have learned to
think freely and to engage respectfully with the ideas of others will
be able to act thoughtfully and responsibly when confronting the complex
issues of their professional, social, and personal lives.