Summary of Charles Deemer's Essay

I think Charles idea is that traditional teaching is not effective with a power imbalance. The teacher assumes total control of the classroom, and he believes that the (lecture) class stifles real thought, and therefore, real learning. The teacher is viewed as a deity, for lack of a better word, because of greater experience. To learn, he says, is to make the student think, not to accept or memorize. The best learning environment, where it has the most practical application, is one where the student is actively engaged, really to challenge contradictory ideas. Deemer stated that in order for creativity to be generated, the pupil should be forced out of a their "comfort zone", which is a line I have heard parroted here at Psec. I believe his ideal learning environment would be similar to a Socratic seminar, where everyone's ideas are considered equally, allowing for discussion and debate, broadening perspectives.

In his essay he uses many similar viewpoints in the form of quotes. This is effective because it show he is neither the first or the only on with ideas on a less rigid teaching structure. He backed up his argument with various proofs, witch gives him more reliability.