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That Which is Taught, That Which is Learned
Author(s) -
Ratner Andrew R.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
journal of adolescent and adult literacy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.73
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 1936-2706
pISSN - 1081-3004
DOI - 10.1598/jaal.51.7.1
Subject(s) - class (philosophy) , curriculum , mathematics education , pedagogy , phone , focus (optics) , teaching method , psychology , computer science , linguistics , philosophy , physics , artificial intelligence , optics
There is a transcendent force at work in the world, and its design for learning and life is far too complex to be executed through lesson plans and textbooks. In this article, the author describes a phone call from a student he taught in a high school English class 16 years earlier and has not seen since. After the student reveals how his life was altered by a particular lesson the author taught on The Merchant of Venice , the author reflects on the nature of teaching and learning. The author concludes that despite the current focus on scientifically validated curricula and measurable learning outcomes, educators should remain open to mystery in classroom instruction and be aware that a teacher's impact on students can take highly unanticipated turns.