Bruce Wilkinson, 7 Laws of the Learner: Law 1a

Law 1:The Law of the

Learner

Pages 13-78

Tuesday 5 October 2010

Law 1:The Law of the

Learner

Pages 13-78


Law 1:The Law of the Learner

Mindset, Model and Maxims

What does the title tell you - what

should you do now?Tuesday 5 October 2010


Law 1 - the law of the learner:



The teacher is responsible for causing the

student to learnTuesday 5 October 2010

Every master teacher...shares the mindset that it is his responsibility

to cause the student to learn.What does this mean for you as a teacher? How will you teach, prepare, approach your classes? Does it make any difference?


The prevailing mindset today is that teaching is what a teacher says rather than what the student learnsTeachers have defined teaching as:“The coherent speaking of an adult located at the head of a class to a passive gathering of students”i.e. They cover the material and that is enough - teaching is about the teacher


The best teachers realise teaching is about what the students do.Covering the material is never enough.Going through your notes is not enough!Biblical teaching doesn’t take place unless the students have learned.Wilkinson says that according to Hebrew grammar to teach can be defined as, “To busy oneself with the students learning. It also means to urge, to cause others to do”


Teaching is “causing learning”.How do you know if you are a good teacher? By what your students learn.


Normally a teacher focusses on the subject / content and the student listensAll attention is on the content - students do not need to concentrate.

LectureWords

WriteListen

CommunicatorSpeaker

StudentClass

ContentSubject


Here the teacher focusses on the student

Causes to Learn

LectureWords

WriteListen

CommunicatorSpeaker

StudentClass

ContentSubject


One frustrated parent wrote this to a school where his daughter was failing to learn:“I get no choice where I send my child to school. I can only go where it is free. And she’ not learning. That’s your responsibility... It’s the teachers responsibility...And when you fail, when everybody fails my child, what happens? Nothing. Nobody gets fired. Nothing happens to nobody except my child.”


Learner Maxims

A maxim is a brief statement of a general principle or truth.So each of the maxims will reflect a different facet of what it means to ‘cause to learn’


Learner Maxims

A maxim is a brief statement of a general principle or truth.So each of the maxims will reflect a different facet of what it means to ‘cause to learn’


Maxim 1: teachers are responsible for causing students to learn

What would happen if you took the students marks as your own - as an assessment of your performance?What grade would your students give you?Is it ever right that you sit through a class (or sermon) and after it can’t remember a thing?


Because we are used to such ‘teaching’ it does not mean we have to settle for it in our own lives.We do not have to live in passivity!One dictionary defines teach as “to cause to know a subject” - it is in modern thinking we have reduced teaching to delivering material


This book is aimed at teachers -as such it is their role that is being considered.However it is not only the responsibility of the teacher to cause learningWe have to be aware that the responsibility to learn is held by others too - students, parents and other related or interested people.


This book is aimed at teachers -as such it is their role that is being considered.However it is not only the responsibility of the teacher to cause learningWe have to be aware that the responsibility to learn is held by others too - students, parents and other related or interested people.

Warning


Do not blame your teacher for your poor grade - you have to take personal responsibility too.In fact this incorporates another law - the Law of the Student, you learn like you are 100% responsible, and,the teacher teaches like they are 100% responsible


Maxim 2: Teachers will stand accountable to God for their influence

Responsibility is partnered by accountability - we have to give an account for our performance.All will give an account on the day of judgement - and teachers more so!


For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.

2 Cor 5:10Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.

James 3:1


Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.

Heb 13:17Wilkinson applies this to all who hold positions of authority, and suggests we note:God holds us accountable because we are responsible; God thinks teaching is very important; we will give account for our souls


Wilkinson applies this to all who hold positions of authority, and suggests we note:God holds us accountable because we are responsible; God thinks teaching is very important; we will give account for our souls;If some classes cause you more grief realise that the same applied to Jesus - look at the Sadducees and Pharisees attacking his content, reputation and taking his life. God does not promise if your teaching is good the students will respond well


“Teach when you experience joy, and teach when you feel grief. Teach because God has divinely called and commissioned you. Teach for your student’s grade on Friday’s test and teach for your grade on the Final test.”Bruce Wilkinson (page 26)








Maxim 3: teachers are responsible because they control subject, style and speaker

Teachers have great control:Full control over the subject - words, change subject at any time, illustrations, depth of coverage...Control of style - delivery method, shout, whisper, jump, small groups, lectures, films, role play...


Control of the speaker - controls himself, his dress (within boundaries of the school), timings, friendliness, sit, stand...The only major part of the process the teacher doesn’t control is the student. Yet the law says a teacher is supposed to cause the student to learn - how then does this law work?


The teacher causes the student to learn by correct use of the subject, style and speaker.Effective teachers control these three elements - ineffective ones don’t.Effective teachers recognise what is stopping a student from learning, the problem, and readjust accordingly.If you think there is a problem with your class look at yourself first


Maxim 4: teachers should judge their success by the success of their students

Suppose you were a principal interviewing two candidates for high school science teacher. Which of these two candidates would you select?


Candidate A Female, forty-eight-years of age, married with three grown children, master's degree in science, twenty years of teaching experience, published numerous articles in magazines and journals, served on various administrative committees, working on a doctorate, hobby of gardening and raising award-winning orchids.


Candidate B. Male, twenty-five-years of age, single but has a cat named Whiskers, bachelor's degree in science, three years of teaching experience, no published articles or books, served on building and grounds committee, considering starting master's next couple of years, hobby water skiing and volunteers at the nearby zoo.It's decision time. Would you hire candidate A or B?


You have no way of knowing. If the definition of teach is "cause to learn," then none of the above information gives me any clue as to the real teaching ability of either.Not the gender, the age, the marital status, the earned degrees, the articles published, the committees served, the hobbies, not even the years of teaching experience.


You have no way of knowing. If the definition of teach is "cause to learn," then none of the above information gives me any clue as to the real teaching ability of either.Not the gender, the age, the marital status, the earned degrees, the articles published, the committees served, the hobbies, not even the years of teaching experience.

Why?Tuesday 5 October 2010

Their credentials are relevant and important. But none of them tell us anything about how effective that person will be in the classroom because they all center around the teacher, not what the teacher can do in the lives of the students. Both could be poor teachers, or they could be outstanding.The only fact which indisputably proves what kind of teachers the candidates will make is how their previous students performed.


A professor may be a great leader, a smart woman, and an outstanding author, but performance as a teacher earns her grade. Never forget this. Teachers cause students to learn the material, and great teachers cause great numbers of students to learn great amounts of material.


The most important test of teacher effectiveness is student performance.Sometimes the very things we promote can lessen the effectiveness of the teaching process. Often the more degrees behind a teacher's name, the less effective the teacher is. More knowledge doesn't necessarily make a better teacher. The focus always must be upon the results of those educational activities, not the accumulation of them.


Maxim 5: Teachers impact more by their character and commitment

than by their communication




"who the teacher is" (character and commitment) compared with "what the teacher says" (communication).





Which is most important - why?





Which is most important - why?

Character out-influences communication every time


Select two or three of your favorite teachers. Usually selection has more to do with what you thought of them than what you thought of their talk.Those timeless proverbs--"What you do speaks more clearly than what you say," and "Actions speak louder than words"--are true. When words and actions are in opposition, actions always overpower words.


A local church is told that their pastor is divorcing his wife to marry another married woman in the

same church.What would you do?


Is it possible for that pastor to openly sin, splitting his own family and another woman's, and still be a powerful preacher?Some of the world's "greatest" teachers and preachers are openly opposed to Christ. We make a mistake when we think that just because a man or woman can teach effectively or pastor graciously or preach powerfully that the hand of the Lord must be on that life.


God's principles for ministry have always been the same: first the character, then the communication. 1 Timothy and Titus are clear - the life of the communicator must first be in harmony with the message before he speaks the message.


In fact, character will always control the content - eventually. The Spirit of God is quenched, sin is given free reign - then the teacher or preacher will begin to shape the content to match his lifestyle. Adults asked to select the teacher who most influenced them, it is always the one who had the most noble character and commitment. Those teachers usually were not the easiest nor the hardest in the classroom, but something about them a roused genuine respect and admiration.








Maxim 6: Teachers exist to serve the students

The teacher in the classroom is supposed to be the waiter - serve the water and re fill the plate and ask the people if there is anything else they would like?


Teachers have forgotten that they exist to meet the needs of their students, not their own.Serving students can be much like loving our children. Often we do things for our children that we think communicate love to them, but they don't receive it that way. Many times teachers strive to serve their students, but their students don't feel it.


All Seven Laws of the Learner are focused on this very issue--How does the teacher truly serve the student in the classroom? As you began to understand these laws and practice them, you will see frustration replaced by motivation. You'll have an incredible set of transferable skills that will work with any subject you are teaching to any age student.


Maxim 7:Teachers who practice the Laws of the Learner and Teacher can become

master teachers

Master teachers are not born or manufactured, just improved! To believe that people are born great teachers is an illogical as believing that people are born great scientists. There are degrees of natural ability, but the majority of people who achieve in their fields do so with persistent effort over a long period of time.


Real effectiveness if developed through many years of improving just a few steps at a time.Wilkinson tells the story of a teacher whom he wanted to dismiss but the dean wanted to keep for one more year. Wilkinson questioned why he was so supportive of this poor performance, and he said...


..."this man is working harder to improve himself than anyone else on the faculty. He is watching the videos of the best teacher, having his wife and friends constantly evaluate him, always asking me for ways to improve. I believe he can do it, and he deeply wants to."The next year, when evaluations were made to determine the top ten, guess who had achieve it? This same man Wilkinson was ready to dismiss the year before.


Did he have those rare abilities to make it naturally to the top tine? No, he didn't. The best rarely are composed of the people who have the most natural talent, but rather by those few who have a passion to fulfill their God-given talents and reach the top of their potential.








Conclusion

The law of the learner is the building block upon which every other law is built.For teachers the commitment and responsibility this requires is foundational to their call and work.


Following is he story of Teddy Stallard - a lesson in being a teacher. It is quite a long read and is located at various places on the internet - this version was taken from http://www.pattishomepage.com/read/teddy.htm. It is also found in The 7 Laws of the Learner on Pages 38-41


http://www.pattishomepage.com/read/teddy.htm






Elizabeth Silance Ballard

Teddy's letter came today, and now that I've read it, I will place it in my cedar chest with the other things that are important in my life. "I wanted you to be the first to know." I smiled as I read the words he had written and my heart swelled with a pride that I had no right to feel.

I have not seen Teddy Stallard since he was a student in my 5th grade class, 15 years ago. It was early in my career, and I had only been teaching two years. From the first day he stepped into my classroom, I disliked Teddy. Teachers (although everyone knows differently) are not supposed to have favorites in a class, but most especially are not supposed to show dislike for a child, any child.


Nevertheless, every year there are one or two children that one cannot help but be attached to, for teachers are human, and it is human nature to like bright, pretty, intelligent people, whether they are 10 years old or 25. And sometimes, not too often, fortunately, there will be one or two students to whom the teacher just can't seem to relate.

I had thought myself quite capable of handling my personal feelings along that line until Teddy walked into my life. There wasn't a child I particularly liked that year, but Teddy was most assuredly one I disliked. He was dirty. Not just occasionally, but all the time. His hair hung low over his ears, and he actually had to hold it out of his eyes as he wrote his papers in class. (And this was before it was fashionable to do so!) Too, he had a peculiar odor about him which I could never identify. His physical faults were many, and his intellect left a lot to be desired, also.

By the end of the first week I knew he was hopelessly behind the Tuesday 5 October 2010

By the end of the first week I knew he was hopelessly behind the others. Not only was he behind; he was just plain slow! I began to withdraw from him immediately.

Any teacher will tell you that it's more of a pleasure to teach a bright child. It is definitely more rewarding for one's ego. But any teacher worth her credentials can channel work to the bright child, keeping him challenged and learning, while she puts her major effort on the slower ones. Any teacher can do this. Most teachers do it, but I didn't, not that year. In fact, I concentrated on my best students and let the others follow along as best they could. Ashamed as I am to admit it, I took perverse pleasure in using my red pen; and each time I came to Teddy's papers, the cross marks (and they were many) were always a little larger and a little redder than necessary. "Poor work!" I would write with a flourish.


While I did not actually ridicule the boy, my attitude was obviously quite apparent to the class, for he quickly became the class "goat", the outcast -- the unlovable and the unloved. He knew I didn't like him, but he didn't know why. Nor did I know -- then or now -- why I felt such an intense dislike for him. All I know is that he was a little boy no one cared about, and I made no effort in his behalf.

The days rolled by. We made it through the Fall Festival and the Thanksgiving holidays, and I continued marking happily with my red pen. As the Christmas holidays approached, I knew that Teddy would never catch up in time to be promoted to the sixth grade level. He would be a repeater. To justify myself, I went to his cumulative folder from time to time. He had very low grades for the first four years, but not grade failure. How he had made it, I didn't know. I closed my mind to personal remarks.


First grade: Teddy shows promise by work and attitude, but has poor home situation.

Second grade: Teddy could do better. Mother terminally ill. He receives little help at home.

Third grade: Teddy is a pleasant boy. Helpful, but too serious. Slow learner. Mother passed away at end of year.

Fourth grade: Very slow, but well-behaved. Father shows no interest.

Well, they passed him four times, but he will certainly repeat fifth grade! "Do him good!" I said to myself.


And then the last day before the holiday arrived. Our little tree on the reading table sported paper and popcorn chains. Many gifts were heaped underneath, waiting for the big moment. Teachers always get several gifts at Christmas, but mine that year seemed bigger and more elaborate than ever. There was not a student who had not brought me one. Each unwrapping brought squeals of delight, and the proud giver would receive effusive thank-you's.

His gift wasn't the last one I picked up; in fact it was in the middle of the pile. Its wrapping was a brown paper bag, and he had colored Christmas trees and red bells all over it. It was stuck together with masking tape. "For Miss Thompson -- From Teddy" it read. The group was completely silent, and for the first time, I felt conspicuous, embarrassed because they all stood watching me unwrap that gift.


As I removed the last bit of masking tape, two items fell to my desk; a gaudy rhinestone bracelet with several stones missing and a small bottle of dimestore cologne -- half empty. I could hear the snickers and whispers, and I wasn't sure I could look at Teddy. "Isn't this lovely?" I asked, placing the bracelet on my wrist. "Teddy, would you help me fasten it?" He smiled shyly as he fixed the clasp, and I held up my wrist for all of them to admire. There were a few hesitant oohs and aahs, but as I dabbed the cologne behind my ears, all the little girls lined up for a dab behind their ears. I continued to open the gifts until I reached the bottom of the pile. We ate our refreshments and the bell rang. The children filed out with shouts of "See you next year!" and "Merry Christmas!" but Teddy waited at his desk.


When they had all left, he walked toward me, clutching his gift and books to his chest. "You smell just like Mom," he said softly. "Her bracelet looks real pretty on you, too. I'm glad you liked it." He left quickly. I locked the door, sat down at my desk, and wept, resolving to make up to Teddy what I had deliberately deprived him of -- a teacher who cared.

I stayed every afternoon with Teddy from the end of the Christmas holidays until the last day of school. Sometimes we worked together. Sometimes he worked alone while I drew up lesson plans or graded papers. Slowly but surely he caught up with the rest of the class. Gradually, there was a definite upward curve in his grades. He did not have to repeat the fifth grade. In fact, his final averages were among the highest in the class, and although I knew he would be moving out of the state when school was out, I was not worried for him.

Teddy had reached a level that would stand him in good stead the


Teddy had reached a level that would stand him in good stead the following year, no matter where he went. He enjoyed a measure of success, and as we were taught in our teacher training courses, "Success builds success."

did not hear from Teddy until seven years later, when his first letter appeared in my mailbox:

Dear Miss Thompson,

I just wanted you to be the first to know. I will be graduating second in my class next month.

Very truly yours,

Teddy Stallard


I sent him a card of congratulations and a small package, a pen and pencil gift set. I wondered what he would do after graduation. Four years later, Teddy's second letter came:

Dear Miss Thompson,

I wanted you to be the first to know. I was just informed that I'll be graduating first in my class. The university has not been easy, but I liked it.

Very truly yours,

Teddy Stallard


I send him a good pair of sterling silver monogrammed cuff links and a card, so proud of him I could burst! And now today -- Teddy's third letter:

Dear Miss Thompson,

I wanted you to be the first to know. As of today, I am Theodore J. Stallard, M.D. How about that? I'm going to be married in July, the 27th, to be exact. I wanted to ask if you could come and sit where Mom would sit if she were here. I'll have no family there as Dad died last year.

Very truly yours,

Teddy Stallard


I'm not sure what kind of gift one sends to a doctor on completion of medical school and state boards. Maybe I'll just wait and take a wedding gift, but my note can't wait:

Dear Ted,

Congratulations! You made it, and you did it yourself! In spite of those like me and not because of us, this day has come to you. God bless you. I'll be at that wedding with bells on!

Elizabeth Silance Ballard








Education

Bruce Wilkinson, 7 Laws of the Learner: Law 1a