Por: CRISTOBALINA ALONZO
Upon reading today about the myriad theories and approaches to literacy—behaviorism, association, operant conditioning, stimulus-response, cognitivism, constructivism, the generative word method, the phonics method, the syllabic method, and the whole-word method of Ovide Decroly or Maria Montessori - I find myself pondering: with such a diverse array of educational philosophies and explanations regarding learning, what is occurring in contemporary schools that results in children reaching 4th and 6th grade with only semi-literate skills? How can a school equipped with numerous methods, bibliographic, technological, and audiovisual resources, still face this challenge?
I taught literacy for eleven years, during an era preceding preschools and the internet. Parents seldom purchased books for their children, yet my students, even before reaching the third month of study, were already reading and writing the third lesson of "Yo Aprendo a Leer" (I Learn to Read) by the esteemed Dominican educator Aurora Tavarez Belliard, following a brief month of preparation. In my experience, the scribbling phase, essential for developing a child's fine motor skills, occurred on wrapping paper or old newspapers, as there were no costly calligraphy or coloring books. Although technology was absent, there existed parents and teachers who imparted education with love, discipline, and respect.
Educators were cherished and revered as second parents, never undermined or disrespected in the presence of students. They taught with empathy, love, and dedication, without arrogance about their titles, fostering communication and genuine interest in each child's unique challenges. The Socratic method, characterized by probing and reflective questions, enabled us to cultivate our students' critical thinking. Paulo Freire and his dialogical method emphasized the importance of situating students in their real-world context.
When a teacher's class resembles a monologue, lacking interaction and communication, the mutual opportunity for learning for both teacher and students is compromised, leading to disinterest and distraction as students become absorbed in their own internal dialogues. Have you taken the time to comprehend their concerns? In a dialogic classroom, learning is a shared experience; conversely, in a didactic monologue, the teacher exhausts themselves while students become disengaged. Michael Sandel, a philosophy professor at Harvard, asserts that "humility and empathy should prevail over the prestige of the teacher that teaching reduced to the passive transmission of knowledge erects a wall that prevents the creation of a living space where doubt and divergent voices build common sense."
Fostering student-teacher interaction and classroom dialogue cultivates critical thinking, nurtures thoughtful individuals with healthy self-esteem, and produces citizens who are connected to and invested in their realities. This approach serves as a remedy for the alienation prevalent in modern society, where enjoyment, luxury, and comfort often take precedence.