Teaching to Learn, Learning to Teach

 What do you think of Engelmann's assertion that, 'if the students haven't learned, the teacher hasn't taught'?

There is no more essential time to ensure that the teacher taught and the student learned than letting a 15 year old drive for the first time. 

In my last post, I commented on how I can see both sides to any argument. Which sometimes makes it hard to argue a point without arguing with myself! Engleman’s stance of, 'if the students haven't learned, the teacher hasn't taught,’ poses no such dilemma. The entire point of teaching, whether it be teaching as a profession or when teaching a skill is for the student to learn. If learning isn’t happening, then teaching isn’t happening. 

Wow that seems harsh. Especially as I spend more and more time with students that need a lot more support. Here’s where the classification lies though. Although what the teacher intended to teach may not be learned in that lesson or time frame, learning is happening. What is being learned as we teach is what reflective teachers look for. They look for the gaps in knowledge and fill them in with foundation skills. They see growth throughout the year. Learning is happening while we are teaching, or while we are walking together, or becoming a learning community. 

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