Just as a tailor custom fits fine clothing to his clients, so too must the teacher customize his approach to fit his students.  The good tailor will not only sell the suit and fit it properly but will also question the client about his motivations for purchasing the suit, explore his interests and desires, and identify his goals and future vision to ensure that the suit meets or exceeds the client’s physical, emotional and intellectual needs while respecting economic constraints. 

A good tailor sacrifices quantity for quality with the knowledge that a positive, authentic experience will earn him a customer for life.  Like the tailor, the good teacher will prepare, encourage and inspire his students to enjoy and passionately pursue a lifetime of learning.  Mutual respect, competency, professionalism and a little TLC will keep them coming back… for suits and education! 

This analogy illustrates the point that the “product” is secondary to the experience.  If the experience is real, comprehensive and interesting then the “sale” of the product is a forgone conclusion.  Without a genuine experience, the “sale” is questionable and repeat business is unlikely. 

A good teacher, to be effective, must relate genuinely to his students and engage them emotionally and intellectually.  If the teacher is successful, the students should possess the motivation and desire to learn and think critically about the world around them. 

A good teacher must employ many different teaching techniques to accommodate individual differences, different classroom demographics and different subject matter.  Different students respond differently to different teaching techniques.  A classroom of inner-city students may require a different teaching technique than a classroom of well-to-do suburban students.  And subjects like math should be taught differently than social studies.  A good teacher will tailor his teaching approach to account for as many variables (social, political, economic) as possible to facilitate the most effective learning experience for all. 

I believe the constructivist approach best suits (pun intended) my individual style and will best serve the needs of my students, my school, my community and my country.  I staunchly believe that the constructivist approach can incorporate aspects of the executive, therapist, and the liberationist approach (both critical and liberal stances). 

As a new elementary school teacher, it is likely that I will favor a constructivist / therapist semi-student centered classroom with a heavy executive approach emphasis.  The executive approach is heavily content/competence oriented and will meet the minimum standard requirements.  As I become a more adept and proficient teacher, I will probably transition to a more classical constructivist classroom, de-emphasize the executive approach and embrace a more liberationist approach.  The liberationist approach most closely matches my own thinking. 

I’m a great admirer of Jean Piaget’s theories of cognitive and affective development.  I really like his theory regarding equilibration and how disequilibration creates the internal motivation to learn and understand.  A personal style of mine that I hope to use frequently is “playing dumb”.  Intentional errors can be a very effective teaching tool.  The students will have to identify the error and then correct the error with the proper rationale.  This method empowers the students, can be a lot of fun and generates interest, surprise (a teacher who makes mistakes!) and promotes self-esteem.  The trick is to let the students know that I’m “playing” dumb, not just dumb.  If they truly don’t think that I know what I’m talking about, I’m in trouble.  I would use this teaching method judiciously.  If anyone can create disequilibration, it’s me. 

For some students, the education I tailor will fit better than the education I tailor for other students… but rest assured, they will all go out the door looking better than when they came in!

Bradbury S. Pomeroy
February 2005