If they aren't learning...

You aren't teaching.

It amazes me that people can spend all day doing something that either has no effect or has a negative effect. Yet that is what is happening in our schools.

Teaching changes people, but people only change under certain circumstances. Counseling research is actually very helpful here. Carl Rogers suggests that the therapeutic relationship should be characterized by unconditional positive regard, empathy, and congruence; that is, the helper needs to accept clients as people--without judgment, to be able to stand in the shoes of the clients, and to be honest.

The same is true for teaching. It is very hard to take the risk of changing, of learning something, when the teacher is judgmental, negative, or dishonest. Maslow would agree--the basic need of safety is not being met in this instance, so learning is probably not going to happen (or the learning will consist of: I don't want to go to school).

I have worked with people for a long time, across a variety of circumstances, including social services, private music lessons, and college classrooms. While there are people who are wilfully opposed to doing anything positive, most people really want to succeed at what they are doing. When they don't succeed, it is probably because they are lacking something: maybe a tool, maybe the proper understanding of the task or how to accomplish it, maybe just the belief that they are able to succeed. Yet how many teachers feel free to yell at kids under this kind of circumstance?

If they aren't learning... you aren't teaching. Why are we wasting so much time--the "teacher's" time, the students' time?