Progressivism and the Good Teacher

A good teacher:
1. Acts as a guide in the classroom rather that the center of learning
2. Stimulates students to initiate, plan and carry out their own projects


Progressivist schools have all started to be more common these days and it seems that the idea is catching on. There is always a comparison between progressive schools and "traditional" schools. What I understand from this is that there is a desire to go beyond the norm and looking at better ways for schools to work. 


What struck me in a progressive school is that there is a movement towards the lesson being personalized and the value of experience in the classroom. The classrooms are small ad the teacher-student relationship is much closer. There is also the challenge of assessment. There is a shift in the idea that assessment can be done just though standardized testing and the "traditional grading system that is commonly associated with traditional schools. Assessment is to be measured in terms of mental, physical moral and social development.


A progressivist teacher then is not just an expert in his field but also is invited towards making the students see and experience the lesson for themselves. A small classroom will also indicate that the teacher will have a more personal relationship with the student and there is a sense of the individual at all times. Assessment is also taken into account in this discussion, the teacher cannot just assign grades based on some standard set by the school. There is a call to better describe the progress of the child in the school and not just a number or letter grade.


From this and previous discussions, it is clear that the a good teacher is not just well educated, morally upright as well as knowledgeable in the different pedagogies available. A good teacher sees the students as more than just vessels to be filled up with knowledge. The students are more than just the numbers assigned to them, whether it be the class number or statistics that box them into one category or another. I think a good teacher must always be aware and flexible to the needs of his students. It is not enough that the students get a "high" grade but also that there is genuine learning and growth.