Education Empowerment

SEE HERE  We need to understand that teachers are only secondary to education.  The most important educational unit is the motivated student who seeks to learn.  The typical classroom environment is not an optimal learning environment.  I think it was Mark Twain who is credited with saying that the perfect school is a teach sitting at one end of a log and a student on the other.

You can do three things when you're teaching.  The teacher can tell and then show the student the material using various aids like books, audios, video and the like.  The teacher can show the student examples that illustrate the material.  The final think is the "do" and ultimately that is something the student has to do.  When the teacher does it it's part of the show approach.  Some teachers are boring, some are inspiring, some are enthusiastic but not well informed.  There is a wide range.

Most teachers are simply learners at a different stage of learning than their students.  Those that recognize this are often the best teachers because they don't react like little tin gods but like learners themselves sharing the experience.  Ultimately the goal of education is to teach the student to teach themselves.  You're not independent until you can do that.

The internet is an incredible medium for delivering the dimensions "tell" and "show" and even "do" can be delivered by providing the student with a way to have their work checked.  We can expect the internet to revolutionize education as people use it ever more effectively in times to come.

Check out Khan Academy HERE  Enter your name and look around.  It's free and it's empowering.  What more could you ask for?