182 Teaching Minds
In summary, a good teacher does the following:
e never tells a student anything that the teacher thinks is true
e never allows himself to be the ultimate judge of his own students’ success
e teaches practice first, theory second (if he must teach theory at all)
e does not come up with lists of knowledge that every student must know
e doesn’t teach anything unless he can easily explain the use of learning it
e assigns no homework unless that homework is to produce something
e groups students according to their interests and abilities, not their ages
e ensures that any reward to a student is intrinsic
e teaches students things they actually may need to know after they leave school
e helps students come up with their own explanations when they have made a mistake
e never assumes that a student is listening to what he is saying
e never assumes that students will do what he asked them to do if what he asked does not relate to a goal they truly
hold
e never allows “pleasing the teacher” to be the goal of the student
e understands that students won’t do what he tells them if they don’t
e understand what is being asked of them
e earns the respect of students by demonstrating abilities
¢ motivates students to do better and does not help them to do better
e understands that his job is to get students to do something
e understands that experience, not teachers, changes belief systems confuses students does not expect credit for good teaching
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