In Mason's model, the teacher is not the "sage on the stage," but the "guide on the side". The teacher's job is not to tell students everything they need to know, but to spread the feast and allow students to do the hard work of self-education. This is quite a paradigm shift. It takes some time to realize that standing aside is the best thing a teacher can do.
The Art of Standing Aside (15 min.)
If a child is a person and the goal of education is to build relationships, the role of the teacher as traditionally conceived is not suited for this kind of relational education. There must be a new way of viewing the role of the teacher so students can be the active participants. In this video, Dr. Shannon Whiteside explains what it means to stand aside and how the role of the teacher in a Mason education differs from the role of the teacher in a tradition educational model.
Reflection
Respond to the following in the comments or in your journal:
1) How has your thinking changed about the role of the teacher since you have learned about Mason's principles?
2) What do you still find hard to implement about Mason's view of the teacher?
3) Why do you think it is important to stand aside as the teacher and be the guide, philosopher, and friend, instead of the fount of knowledge?
4) How have you seen your students taking initiative and doing the work of self-education?
In Mason's Own Words
Read School Education, Ch.3 in its original text and/or in modern English.
“The teacher who allows his scholars the freedom of the city of books is at liberty to be their guide, philosopher and friend; and is no longer the mere instrument of forcible intellectual feeding” (A Philosophy of Education, p. 32).
"Let them get at the books themselves, and do not let them be flooded with a warm diluent at the lips of their teacher. The teacher’s business is to indicate, stimulate, direct and constrain to the acquirement of knowledge . . . The less parents and teachers talk-in and expound their rations of knowledge and thought to the children they are educating, the better for the children” (School Education, p. 162).
"A child is to dig knowledge for himself out of living books because what he learns on his own becomes his 'possession' and is assimilated as opposed to 'what is poured in his ear'" (School Education, p.177).
Further Reading
The Courage to Teach: Exploring the Inner Landscape of a Teacher's Life by Parker Palmer
Margin: Restoring Emotional, Physical, Financial, and Time Reserves to Overloaded Lives by Richard Swenson
The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer
"The Learning & Developing Child" CMI Course
