This is a great list – I only disagree with one or two….. as for the rest, YES, YES, YES!!!
After John Cage.
Source: Some Rules for Teachers – The New Inquiry
1. only ask the questions to which you really need answers
Maybe I don’t understand the intent. If the idea is to only ask questions that are important for the students to understand, then fine.
2. demonstrate uncertainty
3. reconstruct for your students your own previous errors of thought and elucidate to your students what factors lead to a changed mind
4. do not let the terms with which you understand the world get in the way of understanding it
5. give up any desire to be the smartest person in the room
6. remember that students have bodies and that bodies require movement, sustenance, rest, and relief
7. leave an inheritance of dialectic
I was uncertain ( 😉 ), so I looked it up – it basically means debate.
8. preserve and sustain whatever delusions you’ve found necessary to behave in good faith
9. every student is a genius
This one I have difficulty with. We aren’t all geniuses, you know. HOWEVER – we all deserve the same respect and our very best efforts to help them learn and grow.
10. do not be afraid to state the obvious
11. a socratic bully is still a bully
12. thoroughly prepare class, including making preparations to abandon your preparations entirely
13. listen with your body
14. suspect charisma
15. conduct yourself in such a way that your students can eventually forget that you exist
