The Teacher conundrum...

Throughout the course I've been taking, the discussion has been about Teachers and Learners. Each share certain attributes - styles and strategies for managing learning tasks; approaches and methods for adapting to the learning; a desire to have the best learning experience possible, and so on. There has been much discussion surrounding the idea of the learner... what is a learner?; why are they in your (my) classroom?; how does the teacher best accommodate the learning goals for the learner?; and so on.

But I can't remember any discussion about what is a Teacher? Surely, a Teacher is a person that is involved in providing a learning experience based on material delivered to an individual or group of people who want to acquire that same knowledge, right? Sure, that would be a nice, clinical sort of representation of what a teacher does, but does it describe what a teacher is? Hmmmmm...


As with all things in an adult's life, there are thousands of differing perceptions relating to the noun Teacher (go back and read my blogs on social constructivism for more clarity). So, if the 'teacher' standing in front of me doesn't meet my perception of a 'teacher', how does this impact anything else that occurs in the relationship between 'teacher' and 'learner'?

What if I come, for example, from a poor area of a country where teachers are instructors who provide learning by rote, and all learning is provided in a teacher-centred approach? Now I am in Canada, where the 'teacher' acts more like a friend than a teacher, and I feel uncomfortable because a teacher/learner relationship is all about mutual respect and rules and discipline? How will I ever learn with this class clown in front of me? How can I take the teacher seriously? Wait a minute, I've missed half of what I should be learning because I've spent too much time worrying about how I can learn from this person! Oh, the misery...

OK, so that's probably a little overstated, but as a teacher I have to be aware of the teacher conundrum. When I was growing up, my teachers were exactly as I have described above... serious, no nonsense instructors who had agendas, and they needed to be met within strict guidelines and to strict standards. All, that is, except one... my Music teacher. She had a way of connecting with her students that was subliminal, gentle, and lasting (I still remember her after nearly 40 years). I learned from the strict ones, but only in a cold and factual fashion. Their teaching worked, but didn't provide fun or warming memories. As for the Music teacher, her methods worked as well, but I also had a desire to learn more from her... she made me want to learn.

If the learner in front of you can't connect with you, they will probably suffer through your classes in a similar fashion that I did in my younger years. The learning may or may not happen, and teaching should never be a Crap shoot. The teacher in Canada needs to be a Chameleon, not a conundrum. Learn how to act.. by that I mean, become an actor. The teacher must be all things to all students. A teacher's interpersonal skills are incredibly important to the learning process. Read about the countries your students come from. Understand the nuances and customs/values they share. Demonstrate understanding for the fear your learners show toward change... this is new for most of them, and you have to be obliging.

When a learner enters a classroom, most of them need to feel that they own the learning experience. For them to do that, the role you demonstrate to them cannot overshadow their understanding of your role.

Don't be a conundrum!