who's on first

Who is on first.
I Don’t Know,
third base.

Abbot and Costello’s gig is a classic (see link below) that has withstood the test of time. The classic mode of instruction in education of a teacher-centered lecture is however well past its time. Yes, lecture does have value as a means to convey information. And yes, a charismatic teacher can present a lecture in a lively fashion. But, the student-centered learning paradigm, with the student playing a more active role in the educational process, is the currently favored practice. Here is a wonderful quotation by Dr. F. Louis Soldan, a superintendent of schools, explaining the paradigm from the teacher’s point of view:

“In conducting the lesson she has no thought of using it to display her own professional skill or brilliancy; but she puts the child in the foreground, and her whole aim is to give his own acting as much time and scope as her skill can induce him to use. She speaks little, that he may speak more; she realizes the difference between telling and teaching. Her aim is to excite activity, and for this purpose she enlists his interest. She makes instruction, not only profitable, but also attractive. She not only serves the intellectual food, but also stimulates the appetite.”

The teacher not only serves the intellectual food but stimulates the appetite! An apt metaphor for a master teacher with a well-tuned perspective on the nature of their profession in order to meet today’s expectations for student-centered learning. Lets check the date of this quotation…this was written in 1899!

1899. Student-centered learning is an heirloom concept. 1899... the math on that is 110 years. Dr. Soldan had it right 110 years ago, so what went wrong? So much as transpired in education since that time that I will just pick one of my favorite axis of evil. One of the items that perpetuated the problem was the cold war era report, A Nation at Risk, that proclaimed in Chicken Little fashion that America was losing its leadership position in the world and called for increased rigor and standards. There is no time for student-centered instruction in a neo-Malthusian world.

Student-centered instruction requires ample planning, preparation for routines, and a teacher with confidence in the associated instructional skill set. Without proper structure and discipline it could well turn into a 3 Stooges slapstick routine. But the Cold War is over and the focus can return to what is in the best interest of the child. Unless however, the standards-based, high-stakes testing paradigm is narrowly interpreted and becomes the new evil empire. But I believe that the brain-based research that supports the value of student engagement of prior knowledge and the constructivist approach will serve as a hefty counter-weight to the pendulum swinging back to the teacher-centered, scripted lesson format that some schools would employ to teach to the test.

But you never quite know what tomorrow will bring. Oh, and by the way, according to Abbott and Costello‘s skit, Tomorrow, he is the pitcher.

Make a good day,
Tod

PS. Abbot and Costello with Who’s on first?: http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/abbott&costellowhosonfirst.htm

PSS. A source of heirloom wisdom: F. L. Soldan (September, 1899). Efficient and Inefficient Teachers. The Teachers World, 11(1), 54-55.