I’m observing that there are two poles my professors rotate around during instruction: Knowledgeable Authorities (KA) and Student Oriented (SO) teachers. Student oriented teachers have a very welcoming persona. They are interested in the students achieving their full potential and are readily acceptant that all students are different. SO teachers depend on their students to communicate with them as it’s through this communication that direction can be attained, and learning can begin. SOTs view themselves as aids for starting and progressing learning but never the end of learning.
When I first met this specific teacher, I was angry they had said “I will learn more from you (the class) than you will learn from me”. I couldn’t believe it! I’m paying to be in this program, and you’re the expert in the room! I reflected then that maybe she was referring to the class being diverse and having many backgrounds… but still it seemed like I would be wasting my time in this class. Four months of class later I realized I had been wrong.
“Hold on, you all look tired. Let’s not do the circle. Instead, I want you to reflect on your own. Sometimes when you’re tired it’s best to just do the work on your own.”
SO teachers don’t really perform “better” or “worse” because the learning isn’t as dependent on them as it is for KA teachers. Instead, it’s important to recognize how your students are feeling. Are they well fed, are they tired, are they inspired and engaged. For SO teachers it’s less about students exhibiting a certain precise responses and behaviors and more about establishing healthy and productive habits.
SO teachers struggle with meaning in their classrooms. It’s unlikely that the teacher will be able to turn back the clock, feed the student a healthy breakfast, ensure they have slept properly and are emotionally well with respected to their many relations as all of these features affect students in the now. SO teachers strongly benefit from some sense of direction. Maybe it’s a writing goal ex; 3 paragraphs a week, three math sheets of any difficulty. If a desired outcome can’t be specified, touch base with the class after the event and see what they took away from it.
