The Great Teacher

While as academics we study the educationalist, the philosophers and the proffessionals who have done the research and written the books, there is one great teacher that very often we miss. Piaget, Vygotsky, Dewey and Bruner - well recognised names in the educational world, each known for their philososphy and approach to teaching and learning. Very often in lectures and so forth we are asked to consider which of these amongst others we are most like in our approach to teaching, learning and education. However, I have found a significant other who has inspired my approach to teaching- one less familiar to the educational masses and yet whose approach was significantly forward thinking for his time. Jesus. Jesus is often referred to as 'teacher' by his disciples and many others. This made me pause and think, maybe I could learn something from somebody else who seemed to be involved in teaching and learning. Jesus very often began his teaching with the people, their knowledge, their experience and their needs. He started where they were at. He told them stories that related to their existing knowledge and experience. At first glance to those unfamiliar with the bible, stories of shephards, sheep, kings and servants may not be as hard-hitting and cutting edge as we might imagine, but they related to the lives and experiences of the people at the time. He helped them to make the connection between old and new information. He had captive audiences of thousands who would sit and listen to his stories, hanging on every word. How often do we wish for that in our classrooms? When people questioned him he often illustrated his points by looking at their experiences and their lifestyle, tapping in to the knoweldge and cultural capitol of the individual. He used questions carefully, making people think and reflect on what they already knew in a way that would lead them to expand their thinking and reach new conclusions. Vygotsky thought he had something new to say? Think again. Jesus often used scaffolding with his disciples - teaching and training them by building up their knowledge a little a time. He not only told stories and gave the information, he backed it up using scripture and more importantly he lived it out, giving the ultimate example of what he was trying to teach. In a very curriculum-for-excellence type of way, Jesus focused as much on the 'doing' as he did the 'telling' - much like the philosophy of Dewey - and made sure he addressed the needs of the whole person, spiritual and intellectual needs included.

So in conclusion, His was a people-centred teaching approach aimed to benfit the thinking and development of the whole person, starting with where they were and what they knew. He tapped in to the culture of this surroundings and used the interests of the people to get along side them. I think it would benefit many of us particuarly those involved in teaching to learn a little something from one of the greatest teachers ever known.