My job is to tell - Your job is to show that you know

Every day I get to go into classrooms and see lots of great things taking place. The teachers at my school really care about their students and do their best to ensure that the students are learning and progressing. One of our teachers has had a message written on the board since the beginning of the year. I have used it as the title of this post. This view is pervasive among educators. I interpret it to be: I tell, you learn. In my opinion this view is outdated and all too often ineffective.

At this point it is important to say that this teacher does a lot more than simply tell students what he wants them to learn. I have seen him using creative ways to involve students and empower them in their own education. Even so, all too often teachers act like they are the source of all knowledge in their chosen field. The gatekeeper of info that their students cannot access except through them. Students know that information is available to them at their fingertips. They can utilize many different technologies to access even more current information than their teacher possesses.

Information does not equate to education. Even accurate and timely information does not equate to education. So what does it mean to be educated? An educated person does possess knowledge, but to be truly educated one must be able to analyze information and apply it appropriately. I believe that this analysis and application is even more critical in our world because so much information is available to so many. An educated person is one who can re-evaluate and modify as necessary. They can sift between the informational wheat and chaff.

As educators it is our task to ensure that students play an active role in their own education. They need to become producers rather than consumers in their classrooms. Teachers must transform themselves into educational coaches while the students shoulder the responsibilities of active players.

Dating & Hell

Earlier this week I had a date. I met him at my gym. It was the first time anyone talked to me at the gym (except my trainer). We chatted while we rode the exercise bikes- the ones that are like video games and you get to pass people. Anyway, he seemed nice and I got a good workout at the same time. He brought up religion and since I like to talk religion it was interesting.

Fast forward to the date. We went to a pizza place. I like pizza. I really like specialty pizzas that are a little unique. This place didn't have anything like that, which was probably good because he likes the basics. He brought me a rose and we had some small talk. Then he looked into my eyes-- intensely. I was a little uncomfortable and lost the staring game when I looked away. Then he shared his beliefs. He talked specifically about salvation. When he was done I share my beliefs. He then talked more about what it means to be saved. I shared my views. He explained salvation again and so on. At one point I said, "so are you saying that I'm not saved?" He didn't answer, but explained his view once again. When it was my turn I expanded a bit to covenants. He said that covenants and commandments are secondary-- salvation (accepting Christ) is primary and all else is secondary.

Well, you get the gist of the night. I challenged him to read the Book of Mormon so that he can know for himself if what I believe is of God. He said that it would take away from what he already knows.

It became late and as we walked to our cars he said, "you are a smart girl". In my head I felt like he was saying, "you are really tricky and you are going to hell you poor girl".

By the way, he wants to see me again and the pizza wasn't very good.