Lord of the Manor & the Constitutional Peasant

In most job interviews there is a question, "Why are you interested in this position?" I am sure personnel people around the world are used to hearing a wide range of eccentric answers. Its not the eccentric in education that worries me. Its the answer I hear approximately a third of the time. "I've always known I wanted to be a teacher. When I was a kid, I set up a little classroom in my basement and would have my siblings and their friends down their. We had a little chalkboard, I taught them things, and we did school." Individuals don't become accountants or pharmacists as primary school students. We don't hear I am going to be a wedding band singer or a plumber at that age. We hear individuals say I want to be teachers, police officers, and fireman from that age.

My worries are that 7-year olds don't see what any of these professions are. To a 7-year old, the police officer is someone in charge, telling others what to do and they do it. To a 7-year old, a firefighter is a hero who runs in to save lives. To a 7-year old, the teacher is queen of the castle, the lord of the manor, the one who runs the classroom, cares about others, and delivers information. Often this vision of teaching runs through the idea that I am going to say things and kids are going to do things.

We have known for a while that we often learn the most when the learner is doing the work. Whether it is researching the concept, seeking information, building a product, or cultivating a solution. When learners sit downstream of the information firehose, while they may take some of the information from the tap a large quantity streams right by.

When we start with new teachers this upcoming August, it will be a journey to help them realize the lord of the manor isn't one who dictates the tasks and responsibilities for learning, but rather one that gives others space to explore and make decisions. The classroom leaders that we need are ones that set up opportunities for students to investigate, explore, innovate, and develop solutions of their own. The classroom leaders that we desire have learning outcomes but allow for multiple paths and products for the learning to be accomplished. Growing up, we may have seen teachers as queens of the castle but in reality we need them to empower their peasants to decisions for themselves and the whole.

Constitutional Peasant