Todd West: Changing the focus from teaching to learning

The Spring 2010 issue of COA: The College of the Atlantic Magazine includes an interview with alumnus Todd West, principal of Deer Isle-Stonington High School.  Discussing how he addresses the challenge of teaching disengaged students, he said, "It's up to the teachers to be very creative to engage kids who are sitting in class thinking about the number of [lobster] traps they could be hauling and the amount of money they could be making....How can geometry be beneficial, or reading a classic?....We talk about what we want for our kids, which is primarily to be prepared to do what they want to do.  We change the focus from teaching to learning."

I like that way of looking at it.  I think sometimes educators can get caught up on the idea that there is a certain curriculum they have to get through, and their goal becomes to lecture on all the topics.  But a better approach is to address the question of how to help students achieve their goals.