A Brief Rumination on Teaching

The essential task of a teacher — whether in the school system, the family, or the community — is not to impart information. A teacher’s knowledge of a given subject area is almost incidental. A teacher does not, in fact, teach.

Instead, a good teacher attempts to engage students with their own learning. In the ideal learning environment, students teach themselves. In this context, the role of the teacher is to provide support and mentorship, to offer resources and perspectives, to mediate conversations, and to contribute the odd bit of professional lore. That’s all.

Students learn best through personal engagement, not through the delivery of content by an authority. An authentic teacher facilitates the ground of learning, brings the students together, then gets out of the way.

In the best learning environments, the teacher is invisible.