Teacher to Learner

photo credit: Wellington College via photopin cc

My son and I take Tae Kwon Do together now. He joined before I did. This was purposeful. I wanted him to be one level above me as we progressed together through the ranks. He will be green belt while I am at yellow belt. When he attains blue belt, I will be at green, and so forth. I felt it was important that he see himself as more knowledgable and expert than me in something. He now has the opportunity to also be the teacher, and me to be the learner. For example, as we warmed up last night, I asked him to watch my form that I would be tested on. This is a test that he had already passed. As I went through the motions, he carefully watched my every move. When I was done, he gave me a thumbs up as feedback. By seeing a grown up follow the same pathway of instruction that he took, I hope that he sees himself as an agent of his own learning narrative and in charge of his future.

Relating this example to our school learning environments...

How can we set our own students up to be the experts and teachers in our classrooms?

What would it take for us as educators to be seen as learners in the eyes of our students?

Why is this important?

These are honest and genuine questions I pose, because I know there are many avenues to essential outcomes. Any thoughts you have on this would be appreciated.