Tomorrow’s teachers will be facilitators
Their task? Creating an experience of knowledge
Close your eyes for a sec and imagine a teacher. What image appears first?
For me, it’s an old person, standing at the front of the room and talking to a class of silent students. It’s clearly a hierarchy. In lots of ways, it’s our collective imagery speaking. And it’s difficult to imagine a new kind of education if we don’t have the vocabulary to express it, or if the available vocabulary is already heavy on symbolism.
Innovation is not only about having new ideas, it’s also about creating new symbols. When it comes to teachers, the same need applies. The future of schooling isn’t going to look like what it used to.
This is why we need to find a new word, free of all negative imagery. I propose Facilitator.
Facilitating education
Educators have a crucial role in the education of our kids because they are the ones who spend the most time with them. They model the interactions we should have between each other, how we should react when faced with a challenge, and so on.
Therefore, the people that accompany our citizens-to-be throughout the first years of their life should be our wisest, smartest, most empathic workforce.
And instead of thinking of them as teachers (from Old English “to give instruction, train, assign, direct; warn; persuade”) we should imagine them as guides, mentors, facilitators.
The facilitator’s role is to make things easier:
- Easier to understand knowledge (by giving an experience of it, instead of instructing a theory)
- Easier to work in teams (by sharing resources to communicate efficiently and by highlighting each individual strength)
- Easier to be innovative (by hosting a safe space in which everyone dares to be themselves)
I love the symbolism associated with the Hermit from the tarot, as representing the role of a good facilitator. The Hermit will guide the people who need him, not by showing them the way, but by lighting their path. This way, the people he helps maintain their agency and autonomy to try, fail, and be responsible for their success.
Who will be our facilitators?
Yes, we need to throw away the word teacher, but we don’t need to do the same with the people educating our children.
Our teachers lack the resources and the training to be amazing facilitators— it doesn’t mean they don’t have the potential for it. With the right guidance, they could transform our learning spaces. Some of them will also lead this transformation, like Ana Lorena Fabrega.
But they won’t be the only ones guiding students. More and more people from outside the academy will start facilitating teaching. Facilitation is one of the most rewarding and meaningful activities. It’s already happening: lots of people are launching their online school or course.
Finally, the students too will start facilitating knowledge and experiences amongst one another. Good peer-to-peer learning requires strong soft skills and a solid understanding of one’s knowledge and areas for improvement, leading as always for new innovation to happen.
“If you want to master something, teach it. The more you teach, the better you learn.” Richard Feynman
The age of abundance for facilitators is coming. The idea that education has to happen within the 4 walls of a state-owned school will fade, replaced with a plethora of mentors facilitating your way through life. Parents and kids will be more involved than ever. The skills needed to be a facilitator (like communication, leadership, creativity, problem solving and nuance) will be the most valued by society. Because they’re not only the ones that allow our civilization to progress— they’re also the ones that give more meaning and happiness to our lives.
Thanks for reading - I’m always thrilled to receive your thoughts, feel free to reply to this or contact me at zeldapoem@gmail.com or on Twitter.
From the Internet by Zelda :-)
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Hey it’s Zelda; I’ve been writing about people’s wellness & education since I was 14. Share with me your thoughts here: zeldapoem@gmail.com
