> On Thu, 15 Aug 1996, Eric Crump wrote:
> > Jan said she was taught three main roles for teachers:
> > >1) teacher as authority (sage on the stage, I suppose)
> > >2) teacher as skill-giver
> > >3) teacher as facilitator
> >
> > What happens to the others if we add:
> >
> > 4) teacher as colleague
>
> I believe this would be as difficult to achieve at the Freshmen level
> as "parent as friend" is with young children. Not that you can't have an
> amicable and caring relationship in both cases, but I believe both groups
> need the security that some-one whose been there and knows is going to
> help them get all these scary things sorted out... and if this
> person of experience feels confidence in them, they begin to feel confident
> also...
Darlene, I needed to break in here because I thought the moment was right.
In my classroom I have so many nontraditional students--some my age, some
older, most who have experience in the world of work without a college
degree--that the usual appearance of the teacher is rarely 1,2,or 3. I
frequently find 4 to be the most effective in that setting. However, I
also think that as colleagues we _are_ all three in various ways at
various times. I agree that what is best for the student is the most
important issue in this and most other classroom situations. I think that
if we allow ourselves to be co-learners in the classroom, we open several
doors that are normally sealed.
Of course, the students are somewhat surprized to hear a granny
saying that she is a co-learner. . . but then there are others older than
I am in the classes, too.
Gretchen>