Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Not Teaching What To Think, But How






























When I was a child, I thought that all I needed to change the world was to grow older.

As a young man, I thought that all I needed was to set forth, engage, and wrestle it into a new shape.

And there are those who've done it that way, conquering this or that, making a mark here and there, blazing their trails through forest, field and city.

But there is also the force of change that is a rock that stays simply in the middle of the river, bending the flow around it, shaping a rapid or swirling an eddy or causing the stillness of a reflecting pool.

That's the way teachers change the world, at least if we stay there long enough, being there to guide the course of events through the passage of children rushing by, creating shared experiences through years and generations.

Those rocks, over time, are in turn shaped by the river, made smoother, more accommodating, yet in the end it's the rocks together that make the shape of the river.

That's why there are those who fear teachers. They know the power of the rock to teach each child that passes through those simple lessons, like the patience of waiting your turn . . .


. . . or the power of working together.


And if your purposes are not served by the things we all teach, year after year, like the joy of free expression . . .


. . . or the importance of critical thinking . . .


. . . or the excitement of intermingling our imaginations . . .


. . . I can see how it might make you rail at teachers who, by being rocks, are thwarting plans that call for people who will not question too much, nor think too creatively. You might blame the teachers when the grown up people wind up not being the way you want them to be . . .


. . . and are instead who they want to be, doing what they know is right, demanding fairness, sharing, and cooperation, insisting that you are the one standing outside the flow.


Unlike parents, whose role is to be along for the ride, teachers stay where we are, deploying our dried pasta necklaces . . .


. . . our soapy water . . .


. . . our blocks . . .


. . . and our puzzles . . .


. . . year over year, again and again, making our part of the river flow into channels it might not have otherwise known to flow . . .


. . . not teaching people what to think, but how. 


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9 comments:

Emily said...

I love your blog! Thank you for all your work as a teacher. I am also a teacher, and have worked in Waldorf and Montessori schools, with children ages 3-6. I love learning about all kids of ways to educate children, and your blog is so inspiring. I am taking a break from teaching to stay home with my 5 year old, and have started blogging that experience. Again, it's wonderful work you do!
emily

Carrie said...

I wish more teachers had the courage to teach how to think instead of what.. and what might be on the test. Preschool teachers do this wonderfully though I fear K-12 teachers are not allowed to do this since the children have to pass a test.

Lauren said...

Absolutely loved this. Thank you! As a middle school teacher and parent of two, I couldn't agree more. Here's to inspiring creativity, imagination, critical thinking, and a passion for learning in our kids.

Lauren
www.365greatchildrensbooks.blogspot.com

Belladonna said...

Great post, Tom. I've just found your blog & it's inspiration. I, and my little boy, go to Playcentre (the New Zealand pre-school, child-led play-based learning organisation). So lots of your ideas and experiences resonate well with us.
I love the image of teachers as rocks shaping the passage of children. It fits so well - both for the inspirational teachers who help us change our life choices, and the 'others' the teachers who try to cram us into rigid moulds.
PS: is that ice the children have their feet in?

den said...

You my boy is creating memories. keep on trucking.

Teacher Tom said...

@Belladonna . . . No, it's not ice, it's a tub of those "jelly marbles" all the preschool teachers have been blogging about lately. You get them at craft stores.

rosesmama said...

Leftover comment from yesterday. My favorite children's book in the allowing them to glimpse the darkness category is The Man Who Walked Between The Towers by Mordecai Gerstein, about Phillipe Petit walk on a tightrope between the twin towers back in the 70's. History, a conversation starter about 9/11, unparalleled illustrations. I love this book, and read it with my girl when she was 4. Gerstein's other books, especially The Old Country, are excellent as well, but this is the best.

pink and green mama MaryLea said...

beautiful... as always.

: )

Christina D. said...

"You might blame the teachers when the grown up people wind up not being the way you want them to be."

I've been catching up on the last couple weeks of your posts (and loving them) - and this line really spoke to me. Jumped out at me. Challenged me. Progressive though I may believe I am, there are always points like this; sticky points, leftover bits of programming, places where I can stand to grow. So, thank you.