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Politics : Sharks in the Septic Tank -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Solon who wrote (51466)	6/18/2002 8:22:20 PM
From: maried.	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 82486

IMO, this discussion is about many different interpretations of the word "teacher" and "child". A child, ages 4-12, is in the formative years of his/her life. The teacher has the responsibility to not only teach the discipline assigned to him/her but must also be aware of the needs, differences and abilities of those students that are assigned to him/her. If any of these students 'don't get it' it is the responsibility of the teacher to find a way to get that information to the student by trying different ways of teaching, different ways of demonstrating and different ways of assessing. With high school students or undergraduate/graduate students the focus on instruction should increasingly be to present new information and to encourage creativity and a thirst for further knowledge. There is nothing more rewarding for a teacher than to see a spark ignited in a student to discover more knowledge. But the idea that all students at that level will excel at the same rate or the same depth is ludicrous. For many they do not have the ability, for others they do not have the motivation and for some they have other roads that they want to discover. A great teacher gives his/her students the information that they need to be well educated, the motivation that they need to be encouraged and the knowledge that whatever direction that they decide to pursue in their life that they do it with passion and regard for their fellowman.

To: Solon who wrote (51466)	6/18/2002 8:33:14 PM
From: The Philosopher	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 82486

If you are willing to insist that the child must be motivated to come to you before you will attempt to motivate her past her reluctance to learn, then you most assuredly ARE suggesting that the child should do her own thing. What in the Hell else could you possibly be intimating? I distinguish two levels, without defining the crossing point, which is broad and differs with the child. The first are who I think you're talking about, young children, essentially elementary school age. The second are high school, college and up. As to the first, who don't yet have the resources to motivate themselves, obviously they need to be motivated externally. The question is, by who. My answer is the parent (broadly used to cover whoever is responsible for the child). The teacher can probably on the first day of school identify those children who are not motivated to learn (fortunately, as I posted earlier, it's a small group; most young kids love to learn). The teacher should immediately discuss this with the parent and work out a program to get the child motivated. The teacher will help, obviously, but the primary responsibility for having the child motivated is the same as the responsibility for getting the child to school on time fed, decently clothed, with the necessary supplies, etc. The parent. Where the parent continues to fail to do this, the school counselor needs to get involved, and maybe some other agencies. But my point is that with 25 or 30 or 35 children in the class, if the teacher has to motivate each one, recognizing that motivators differ among children of that age, the teacher will have to take a lot of time away from teaching those students who are eager to learn. That is not his job, and it is unfair to the children who want to learn, and to the parents who have prepared their children to learn. Obviously, we're talking about shades of gray here, not black and white. I would probably be unfair to you if I claimed that you see no role for the parent and expect the teacher to take a child whose parents demotivate him (as, sadly, a few do) and motivate him all by the teacher's self. And you would be unfair to me if you said that I claim that the teacher has no role in motivating the students and is merely a teaching automaton. Many parties have a role in making sure that children come to school ready and eager to learn. But my view is that the primary responsibility for motivating the child is with the parents, not with the teacher. Obviously teachers don't wash their hands of unmotivated students. They do their best, work with the child, encourage them. But to say that they bear the primary responsibiity for motivating the child to learn, I do not agree with.