"Education is Politics" - quotes

1) "Piaget urged a reciprocal relationship between teachers and students, where respect for the teacher coexisted with cooperative and student-centered pedagogy."
       I believe that this is truly the best type of classroom. In my mind, there is zero doubt that the teacher needs to be respected, keep order in the classroom, and overall remain in control, but I believe that education needs to be a two way street. That a teacher needs to teach to the students and not to a test. Students need to feel comfortable enough with their teacher that they will be engaged in the learning process. This way, when they are truly interested in what they are learning, they will learn both from the teacher and from each other.  It seems to me that when students are encouraged to explore and learn and discover, learning happens much more efficiently than when a teacher simply explains what the textbook already says. When teachers respect their students and are willing to learn and work with them, education really becomes possible.

2) "People are naturally curious. They are born learners. Education can either develop or stifle their inclination to ask why and to learn."
       Relating closely to the first quote I chose, questioning in a classroom could not be more important. Most classes that I took in high school were taught to the textbook, and there was little room for questioning that or for doing more out of the box learning. I quickly learned in the school system to learn what they told me too and to do my best to retain that knowledge. But that is not how people learn. Memorizing facts and knowledge is not an education. being able to ask why, and to discover how to find the answer and why that answer is true, that is how you learn. It is the job of an educator to foster this natural curiosity, and to really teach how to learn, rather than just teach the information that has already been explored. While it is necessary to learn and be tested and evaluated, I believe that there are some better ways and some not so good ways to present this information to students.

3) "...education for empowerment is not something done by teachers to students for their own good but is something students codevelop for themselves, led by a critical and democratic teacher."
       This is my favorite quote in this reading, and something that I truly believe. A teacher should be a guide. A mentor, a resource, and a guide. They should not be an authoritarian who pretends to have all the answers. A teacher who is teaching by these democratic limits is not helping society. Society is run by the elites, and teaching this way will cause it to remain this way. By letting students guide the learning, these are the kid who will make positive change. By empowering themselves, with the aide of a teacher, these are this kids who will question everything, including the political system, and change will happen. We need to encourage students to not accept everything for what it is, while still retaining control and order in the classroom. Educators seem to have trouble finding this balance, and tend to lean towards the democratic, almost militaristic style of teaching.