There's been a lot of debate about what children learn in school. But that's not all that matters.
 | By Eleanor Barkhorn Editor at Large, Opinion |
I've been following the raging debates in the United States about what students should learn. And I've been continually struck by how they seem to betray an incomplete understanding of what happens in schools. Yes, curriculum matters. But students are not empty vessels waiting to be filled with whatever information their teachers happen to dispense. Students are curious. They read the news and absorb social media and watch TV on their own time. They can sniff out when a narrative they are being taught in school doesn't tell the whole story. |
So I was thrilled when Esau McCaulley, a contributing Opinion writer, told me he wanted to write about the essential role teachers play not only in relaying a particular curriculum to their students but also in showing them how to think and talk critically about what they are learning. |
A core skill of a good teacher, he writes, is the "ability to hold fair and stirring conversation." He recounts several teachers from his school days who, as he puts it, "forced us to have opinions and defend them." |
Those teachers inspired McCaulley so deeply that he became a teacher himself, first on the high school level and now for college students. "It is my job and the work of every teacher to form this group of individuals into a community of inquiry," he writes. |
He makes a strong case that everyone engaged in the conversation about what students learn should be equally engaged in the question of how teachers teach. |
Here's what we're focusing on today: |
Forward this newsletter to friends to share ideas and perspectives that will help inform their lives. They can sign up here. Do you have feedback? Email us at opiniontoday@nytimes.com. |
Contact us If you have questions about your Times account, delivery problems or other issues, visit our Help Page or contact The Times. |
|
No comments:
Post a Comment