The teacher-student relationship : a process of living

Abstract

This study looks at the relationship between the teacher and the student through a Deweyan lens. From this perspective, the classroom is a representation of social life in which “education is a process of living” that is, a holistic process (Dewey, 1897, p. 7). Two biodrama films based on real-life classroom events, The Ron Clark Story and Stand and Deliver, are used as tools to discuss how the methodologies adopted by the teacher influence the students‟ holistic development. The study explores how the teacher, through her methodologies, engages in training individuals to reach their full potential through extending and deepening their sense of values in their evolution of becoming social individuals. Viewing the films through a Deweyan lens highlights the intrinsically linked relationship of the teacher and the students as being an education in itself for both parties. Various findings are elicited from this study namely: the need to focus on the students‟ thinking processes rather than the end product; the need to manipulate and fashion experiences triggered by the students‟ interest so as to bypass mental truancy and instead foster and extend their growth; through indirect learning students are encouraged to take charge of their learning, and develop moral traits of character. It is hoped that insights from the study enlighten teachers to adopt Dewey‟s recommendations so as to empower students to care and take responsibility for their work, and experience moral integrity.