Who should lead the path?

Who should lead the path of learning in the classroom? I feel that most of the time, the adult should be behind the students, sometimes alongside them and rarely in front of them.

When an adult follows the student, she lets him lead. The student decides where to go. The student is surrounded by other students and they chart the course, decide when to make a turn, when to rest and what to play. The adult is there to make sure that no one gets too close to the edge of the cliff, or plays with dangerous things, but the student almost does not feel the adult’s presence. In the picture above, the student and the group of students around her, are the ones present; they are the dominant ones in the picture. Sometimes, in certain situations, the student asks one of the adults to move to the front of the picture and walk beside him. When an adult walks beside the student, they walk together. They talk about subjects that interest them both; they express their opinions and are equal in the discussion. This can happen, for example, when the student wants to hear about how the adult likes to spend her free time or asks him to teach her a game she used to play when she was younger. The student initiates the interaction or conversation and the adult happily cooperates. The adult does not take control over the path and does not lead it. She joins in at the student’s request. Rarely is there a situation that requires the adult to move to the front. This really only happens in the context of safety or when the student’s argument gets out of hand and becomes violent. In these cases, the adult emerges from the back of the picture and makes sure that the students are safe. However, such occasions are rare.

When an adult walks before the student, the entire picture changes. A student cannot lead where an adult comes first. The adult is naturally bigger and more experienced, and he decides where to go, where to turn and when to rest. It is not always suitable for the students, but “they will adjust” and “there is no choice, we must follow the schedule”. In this picture, the adult is dominant. He is the main character. She is the guide, he is the teacher, she knows and decides.

The word “Teacher” in itself already gives a hint about the teacher’s place in the interaction with her students. A teacher is there to show the way. The picture that emerges is the second one, in which an adult walks at the front of the group and shows the way. Almost nothing remains from the first picture.

I will go even further and I shall analyze the sentence “A good teacher is a teacher for life”. This sentence usually is understood to tell us that a good teacher is measured by the influence she had on her students. The aspiration is for the students to remember the teacher as an exemplary figure, who shaped their world, opened the door to new knowledge worlds and taught them values. There is a lot of ego in the story: As a teacher, we all want to be seen, to be appreciated for our work and ultimately, for the students we teach to remember us as “Life Teachers” who shaped the way they walk today.

I think it’s time for a change. It’s time to let the students lead, trust them to know the way. What would be the role of that adult? I believe that his role is super significant; he is the one who actually allows this entire picture to exist. I see two main roles for the adult: the first is to ensure a rich learning environment, in which the students can learn by themselves. An environment full of new possibilities and tools, with which the student can build skills and knowledge. The second role is to make sure that the safety of the students is preserved: To stop violent behavior in a timely fashion, to identify a situation where a student got completely lost and offer choices to get him back on track, to ensure that the environment, to which the students are exposed, is adequate and safe for them. That adult should have faith in the Eagles’ ability to chart the course and should have the ability to decide when and how to intervene. In my opinion, this opposes the role of the classic teacher. It’s hard to grasp and it raises quite a bit of inner personal resistance from my place as a character who wants to be an example for the students who follow me. Still, the more time I spend at Acton, the more I feel that this is the right direction.