Coarse Course, Of Course

If all human one-to-many education is teaching to the least common denominator because a teacher with one set of limited knowledge, skills and capabilities is trying to impart a subset of knowledge to a group of others with a mixed set of limited knowledge, skills and capabilities, then how do we create an education system where we expand rather than contract the limits, and emphasize individual talent rather than reach group consensus through standardized tests?

That is my quest in which I have already failed during my first attempt, seeing some students/customers lose interest because the material in one course was not challenging enough and/or I was not challenging the students to absorb and go beyond the class material. I was too worried about not offending their sense of self and now I know I was wrong.

I am already willing to be wrong and to let my students excel in ways I cannot, thus pulling myself aside so that I don't hinder my students'/customers' personal learning process. However, my personality still exists because I am their single human teacher/instructor; thus, how do I find a way to exert/assert my personality without suppressing some of my students/customers who have low self-esteem or not a strong desire to learn? My goal is to focus students/customers on knowing themselves and believing in the power of their knowledge, skills and capabilities so they can build upon their complete selves, both strengths AND weaknesses, and see themselves learning as if I am not guiding or instructing them.

Classrooms become mini-cults of personality - the successful instructor avoids becoming the worshipped guru and truly puts the individual personalities of the students/customers first. When I become the invisible instructor whose students/customers master the subject at hand - the course material - I have achieved more greatness through my students/customers than what being a popular instructor achieves.

How does one become invisible? Tag-team teaching, perhaps, with multiple instructors canceling out each other's personalities. Another approach is to identify and designate other students in class to assist in the teaching/learning process while avoiding a system of favoritism.

And then there is the student/customer with another view of the classroom, where learning is a matter of figuring out the best way to get a good grade, no matter whether one photocopies/prints the homework assignments of other students or memorizes the answers to tests. How do I reach out to those students/customers and get them to enjoy learning the course material rather than learning how to cheat their way through class?

Time to assign all students/customers individual portions of the course material and have every one of them share their assigned material with the rest of the students/customers. If we are to meet as a group and the instructor is to become invisible, then as the only instructor in the room I must treat my students/customers as my equals and let them demonstrate their learning to one another. My role as their equal will be to bring my learning into the circle (a/k/a the round table) and tie the course material to real-life business situations.

To accomplish this goal and meet the accreditation requirements of the technical institute, I must open up and present the details behind the syllabus so that students/customers know what's individually required of them at the beginning of the term, including short instruction presentations on their assigned course material, as well as the usual assortment of homework, labwork and tests/quizzes.

And all of this must take place in a fun learning environment, where mistakes are allowed to be made and we can joke around with each other without violating basic written/unwritten rules of decency.

No problem!