The Dying Breed of Teachers

We all sat in class awaiting for our teacher to come.

Some of us prepared the computer and projector for the teacher's use.

When he arrived, we expected him to upload his slide presentation of the lecture and start with his 'usual' bout of lecture. However we were instead approached with a different method of learning... He asked general, non-specific, thought provoking questions which admittedly none of us really knew how to answer...

Why?

It wasn't that we didn't know about the subject in question. Rather, there is a 'thought block', a wall that obstructs the connection of one part of our neurons to another to allow us to freely THINK.

The teacher's intention of teaching is to impart, the popular word, his knowledge in hope that we may assimilate, analyze and apply his teachings. In 'modern' times, we have all sorts of gadgets and technologies to assist us. These utilities are meant to make the teacher's purpose of imparting his knowledge easier. Rather today, I (and probably he) witnessed that all the technologies available did not at all help achieve his objectives.

The teacher's purpose of teaching is not really to directly transfer his knowledge. Rather in his own words, he wishes to initiate, ignite the students to gain that knowledge on his own. 

This is the part where we fail to realize. Knowledge in the end has to be earned and requires our own initiative and our own spark ignition to comprehend to understand what we have learned. That will then be knowledge. Without the will from the individual to learn, to gain knowledge, we will in the end fail to gain anything...

This aspect of learning needs to be realized before the principles of it disappears completely. Then what will be left is learning purely by forcing to retain 'what was said' and not really to attain knowledge.

Our teacher today realized this. Which is good. Teachers like this fortunately still exist.

My worry is after. Will this type of teacher continue to exist? Will the numbers continuously reduce and eventually fade? Will the true objectives of teaching and learning be reduced to mindless fact gathering without trully appreciating the knowledge behind it?