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I Walked Away...

I Walked Away...
"The object of teaching a child is to enable him to get along without his teacher"                                                                                ~~Elbert Hubbard 

The philosophy a teacher employs helps define the learning atmosphere the students will experience.  In turn, the experiences the student brings to the learning helps define the philosophy a teacher employs.  A mutual relationship that can breed growth and success for both parties.
My students were given an assignment this week.  They were to read about 10 famous women from the past century.  They answered questions based on their readings.  The last question was, "Which woman from the list do you most admire? Explain your answer".  It was impressed upon them that they must complete this assignment before the next day in order to continue the lesson.  They knew not what awaited them.
I gathered the completed assignments and found websites for the women that they had chosen.  The next day, we went to our computer lab and I explained that they were to visit the bookmarked websites for the woman they chose and write a biography for that woman (they were given a template to help them along).  They were given specific instructions and told that these instructions would not be repeated.  Each student listened attentively and when the time came, they dispersed to their computers and began their research.
I walked away.
It felt strange to walk away from the students (our computer lab is connected to the library and separated by a half-wall).  It almost felt unnatural not to hover over them, directing them, answering questions, reading things to them, and helping them with words.  It's what a teacher is supposed to do.  Instead, I found myself in the library, still able to see them and hear them, but just out of their reach.
They worked.  They began pointing out what they were learning from their research to the one sitting next to them.  Discussions about these women’s accomplishments ensued.  Kids helping kids with technical issues on the computer was witnessed. 
Every so often I would saunter through the Computer Lab to allow them to know that I was indeed still there.  I went unnoticed much of the time.  
Again--I walked away.
They worked for the good part of an hour.  They gathered information without me.  They navigated through technical problems without me.  They answered questions without me. They learned without me.  They "got along without their teacher" as Hubbard says in the quote above.
My classroom sits quiet now as I write this.  Echoes of learning ring through my head;  the conversations, the movement, the moments of epiphany experienced when one learns a new concept and understands it. 
I know they will return and continue to learn from me.  At times, I will walk away again...allowing them to get along without me.  There will come a time when they too--will walk away.
Mr. Casten
March 18, 2011 
  Copyrighted material of Michael C. Casten

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