The misnomer that is 'teacher'

Antero Garcia, an English teacher at Manual Arts High School, writes:

Recently, I was reviewing the objectives of one of my class writing assignments. I then let students work independently on their assignments and walked around the class to make sure students were busy writing. I suspected one student wasn’t on task and asked him if he knew how to construct the thesis statement for his essay. His answer surprised me:

“I don’t know sir, your job is to teach me.”

I momentarily disregarded the student’s catty tone and responded: “No, actually my job is to make sure you learn.”

The problem with the label that educators have cornered themselves into is that it doesn’t provide a clear picture of what a teacher does. New teachers, student teachers and still developing teachers can teach until they are blue in the face and –- if they aren’t engaging their students –- not actually have a class of young people learning anything.

As a result, much of the beginning of the year, my classroom interaction with students is such that I try to make it clear to my students that we are a community of learners, committed toward common thematic and academic objectives. As such, I am aiding these students in their quest toward literacy and content proficiency.

Perhaps instead of framing the job as a “teacher” a new phrase would be more appropriate. I’m happy to hear your proposals. For now, I think I’ll try out “Learning Practitioner.”
 

Comments

[Mark Gomez]

learnanator? learnin' surgeon? learntition?
so many possibilities...
maybe we should redefine what it means to teach? to provoke thought?

"what are you??!??!"

"i'm the the provoker!!! (english accent turned american,husky, lisp)