No longer just a knowledge pusher

Abstract

The teacher in the open classroom has been variously described as “facilitator,” “guide,” “resource person,” even “travel agent.” Perhaps such terms have contributed to a false impression of the teachers role, resulting in the mistaken notion of some teachers that open education is a laissez-faire approach. But the teacher is not simply a consultant not an overseer of a haphazard, unstructured, chaotic “experience center,” as some might think. Rather, he must do a great deal of planning and continuous evaluation to provide the structure within which the child can function freely and personally in terms of his particular interests, needs, and abilities. There is structure existing, for example, in the teachers selection, arrangement, and substitution or replenishment of learning materials; structure is provided as the teacher moves in and out of the childrens activities and as he keeps a visual watch on areas being neglected or used extensively by certain students; there is structure in scheduled activities and in the teachers feedback as he helps the children achieve a balance in their free activities; and structure arises on a very personal level as the teacher comments, raises questions, suggests, and builds on spontaneous happenings (but does not “direct” or “manipulate”) to help each student find meaningful experiences in music in terms of himself. Charles H. Rathbone, author/editor of Open Education: The Informal Classroom, discusses the teachers role in this next article. A former assistant professor of education at Oberlin College in Ohio, he is now director of New City School in St. Louis.—Ed.