three ring circus in class

Why it is sometimes better when students talk to each other during the lecture, don't attend class and play games during their work?  The picture of all students sitting nicely in individual seats, facing the same way with hands folded in front of them is a picture of poor education, poor development

The old idea and the widespread idea around the world is that school is for learning obedience.  It is true that being able to listen to instructions and follow them fully is a valuable, maybe even essential thing, in modern life.  It may well have been a matter of life and death in previous ages.  Make the lord of the manor or the samurai angry and you might immediately lose your head.  (See Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett to get the idea.)  But in today's world, the individual and the nation depend very much on both good cooperation and also on good standing alone, doing independent thinking. 

As teachers and parents find out, the bright, inquisitive mind is a pain in the a**.  Too much asking "Why?", too much questioning every little thing and then arguing with the explanations.  Of course, some such is not really questioning as it is attempting to get one's own way by other means.  However, it is important for those who wish to lead, to be in positions of power and security to be able and willing to think and act on their own.  I was very happy when I discovered what is often meant by "initiative".  A list of important traits in some Boy Scout literature first alerted me to the importance of watching for good opportunities and then taking advantage of them.

My mother used to say that the main goal in parenting and teaching was equipping the young to do without the parents and teacher, to enable them to face the future and work it to produce a happy and productive life.  Many organizations and schools today are working to strike a balance in leading the student to be able to participate and cooperate but also to be able to criticize and doubt, to ponder and to check facts and assertions.

In the modern classroom, there needs to be order and there needs to be safety for all.  But many upper grade teachers, instructors and professors seem to have a conviction that their job is to talk.  This is an old preoccupation and it is often called something like "imparting information."  In truth, there are times when an experienced person can say a few words which can put a subject in perspective quickly and succinctly.  The trouble is that just about no one can manage to say a few words, especially a few that are both grasped and pay off.  Many schools around the world steadily send messages to students that the teacher or the text knows the answer while most of the important problems we face are sloppy and ill-formed.  Most of them are murky and have unknown or multiple answers.  Problem-solving of all sorts is the name of an big part of our lives today.  It is completely true that character, persistence and awareness are important parts of working through things with oneself and others.

With secondary and higher students, the internet, their own brains and memories and experiences and their libraries combine into a much more powerful source than just the mind of the teacher.  They can often learn more outside of class and by talking, cooperating and gaming inside.  The teacher can function as leader, guider and checker but not the only source of knowledge.