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Guidance

So back to my learning question, do all children need a teacher?

Today we visited Francis W. Parker Charter Essential school. It the second time I visited this amazing school. This is a school where teachers and students visibly breathing and living according to CES. They show commitment and speak the CES language. You feel the tone of decency and trust. There is democracy and equity. Almost all student told us that they liked to be at Parker because everybody is immediately excepted. They feel safe to be who they want to be. They feel free to be themselves and show what suits their style. I have seen such a variety of color dyed hair together. The student also told us that they liked to be at Parker because the teachers know their students. Teachers teach human beings first and contents second. Students can call teachers by their first name and that makes it easier to connect. Goals apply to all, while means to these goals will vary as students themselves will vary. Teachers ensure that students already know what is expected of them. The student is the worker and the teacher is the coach. The teachers teach what they preach and preach what they teach.

This week I talked to al lot of teachers from primary school until high school about my learning question. I also talked to José. Do all children need a teacher, my answer is: no. A child doesn’t need a teacher every minute of the day. What a child needs is guidance. It doesn’t have to be a teacher. Through life guidance can be given by a teacher, but also by a classmate, a parent, a sibling or another adult. The guide should be someone they can trust and who empowers them to growth and development.

So knowing the answer to my learning question there may be a chance to solve the lack of substitute teachers by organize things differently. How exactly I don’t know jet. What I do know is that I want to search for opportunities to guide more children with less teachers. An interesting challenge!

Recommend0 recommendationsPublished in 03: Goals apply to all students, 05: Student-as-worker, teacher-as-coach, 09: A tone of decency and trust, 10: Democracy and equity, Reis2023

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