If there was ever a moment where I suspected such an impossible fact, I would be undoubtedly confident of it now: Mark Twain is a time traveler. He saw, he knew that there would come an age where students forsook their duties and shirked everything over to the teacher/professor, leaving the latter to grasp for straws by calling on the students who always volunteer for the sake of the others. Of course this is not the case for every classroom, thank heavens for that. Robert Probst's chapter in Beers' book illuminates the necessity for a change in how teachers approach uncooperative students. I'm curious, however, as to why this has become such a problem. Where did this passive learning style come from?
Regretfully, there have only been a few classes where I've been taught how I can teach content to my future students. For this reason I am both disappointed and overwhelmed at the task at hand: devising lesson plans that work. So far this book has provided me with a hundred and one ways to take down the olliphant Legolas-style and this chapter is no exception. Of all the examples he provides, the most provacative one that I can find is simply to demand. We are the teachers. If students don't want to write, read, or work in small groups, they have the choice to either admit defeat and give into the Balrog that is their daily assignment or lose points for the day. Probst's emphasis on having the students ask more than just the easiest questions, but rather ask questions that bring depth to the reading. It's tempting to give them the questions we believe to be relevant and helpful in understanding the text better. What would that teach though? Leaving them accountable for their own understanding--with teacher guidance--makes the reading less of an assignment and more of an activity.
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