Paulo Freire once said : ‘“Education either functions as an instrument which is used to facilitate integration of the younger generation into the logic of the present system and bring about conformity or it becomes the practice of freedom, the means by which men and women deal critically and creatively with reality and discover how to participate in the transformation of their world.” (Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed)
Learning a language is like observing a transformation take place. Observing entails analyzing, posing questions, it means reflection and achieving hopefully a deeper understanding. Learning to think critically is priceless equipment for my students’ whole life (and not only) exactly because, as Freire says, it can help us understand and then possibly transform our own world. It is a cognitive as well as a social skill.
To be a teacher means to enjoy the process my students have to go through in order to learn. In several stages of this process, they need to unlearn in order for them to relearn and make sense of a new experience. While this might cause an initial discomfort, it gives them a lot of satisfaction in the end.
To be a teacher means to acknowledge that teaching is a transformative process not only for our students but for us, teachers, as well. I teach them the meaning of collaboration because they have to learn from each other’s experiences. Especially with Greek students, teaching them the idea of ‘collaboration’ is a great challenge on its own, since they tend to follow a more individualistic pattern in the way they are used to studying.
Nevertheless and fortunately though, THEY teach me as much as I teach them.
So, to be a teacher means to allow your students to teach you.
My students teach me new ways of thinking, new perspectives, new views of the world and I deeply appreciate them for this.