A Good Teacher...

A good teacher cares about his or her students by becoming familiar with their particular learning processes. This teacher understands that students come from a variety of cultural backgrounds, and the teacher should create a learning environment where these backgrounds do not impede the learning process. A good teacher creates space for students to learn. I do not mean this in a physical sense; rather, the teacher uses as little limitations as possible for their students. A good teacher understands that the fewer extrinsic motivations a student has, the more enriching the learning process is. Of course there must be some limitation, but a student should never feel entrapped by the question of, "Will I get a good grade, or not?" By constantly questioning whether or not the student will get a good grade, the student narrows his or her vision of "How to get there," there being the A grade. A good teacher must make grades as imperceptible as possible to the student. A good teacher constantly stretches the minds of his or her students. A good teacher should be like a personal trainer of the student mind, on the sidelines of the learning process and simultaneously nudging students to use their minds to their full capabilities. However, the good teacher should view the learning process as an event in which they can take part. There is always something more to be learned, and by expressing an avid desire to learn more, the teacher demonstrates to students that learning is boundless. The goal in mind is to create a desire in students to always learn more without a narrow-minded approach.

Revised T2P

      If students and the teacher participate in a reflective round-robin discussion based on material the teacher and students observed together, then both the teacher and the students will be able to have an engaging, opinion-driven conversation to reflect upon the material.  The conversation should begin with a question that engages the student's critical thinking skills, and then the teacher should bounce the reactions back to other students.  Since all of the students are expected to participate, it will be necessary for them to come up with ways to voice their opinions about the material.  It is especially engaging for the students towards the end of the round-robin circle, because the answers they had prepared will most likely be articulated by earlier students. However, it will also keep the teacher on his or her toes to quickly pose opinion-generating questions of students.

      According to Freire and Vicki Davis, teachers and students can almost share a position in the role of learning.  The learning process should be ongoing for not only students, but also teachers, and the two parties should stimulate understanding by posing questions that cause critical thinking. 

      This relates back to my moral beliefs that teachers and students learn together. In this round-robin exercise, the teacher is acting as a "personal trainer" to the student's minds. Everyone's mind is in the game, teacher included. The job of the teacher is to pose questions based on student responses that will cause the students to think. The job of the students is to answer the questions to the best of their ability. Though the questions may be difficult, they are stretching the student's mind. Morally, the teacher should not position themselves in a role that suggests dictatorship to the students. Instead, the teacher should bring themselves to the most equal level in comparison to the student. This creates a level of comfort for students that opens up the door to new dimensions of learning. The fewer boundaries there are, the more likely a student is going to explore.