William Arthur Ward tells us, "The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior demonstrates. The great teacher inspires."
There is a great deal of wisdom in these words, but I prefer to take this statement one step further. Great teaching not only inspires students, it also empowers them.
There is an exciting trend in education which allows students to get involved in their own learning. It is called "project based learning". To be honest, I used this type of teaching before I ever learned the term, and the result has not only been seeing my students my students learn, it has been watching my students be empowered. They discover that they have a voice, and that their voice is powerful.
I use this method primarily when I teach my students about genocide and social justice issues. We discuss what genocide and human rights violations look like, why they happen, we look at examples and we discuss our reactions. Students then choose topics of interest to them, often the stories of their own ancestors. They do extensive research and present their findings to the class. Other students then discuss and react to what they have just learned. It is a wonderful way of teaching, and it allows for important information to be taught to the class which I may have never thought of presenting.
I thought that this was simply a wonderful educational experience, until I began to talk to my students. I realized that more was happening. In becoming experts on their topics, they had begun to teach other people, including me, about something that they would not have known otherwise. They had found a voice, they were empowered, and they realized that they were making a significant impact on the world. Several students have gone on to work in areas of social justice and global development. To be perfectly honest, they have now become the ones who inspire me, their teacher.
We need to inspire our students, we need to involve them in their learning, but we also need to empower them. In doing so, we allow them to use their amazing gifts to change the world around them. Perhaps we have always done this to an extent. We have always allowed certain students to take positions of leadership - we have handed our athletes the ball on our sports teams, for example - but there are initiatives happening today which open up these opportunities to more and more of our students. Project-based learning does this. Another program called "The Leader In Me" not only teaches elementary age children what it means to be a successful leader, it give them the opportunity to demonstrate these skills. That is empowerment.
These are some of the exciting trends happening in education today. As a professional educator, I am challenged to find ways to empower my students and allow them to take active roles shaping the world around them. This is how we will continue to generate the type of leadership that is needed as we move further into the twenty-first century.
