Are teachers responsible for student learning?
The argument can be made that student learning is both the responsibility and choice of the individual student. Consider the following quote, which espouses this position:
“Because every person is accountable for this his or her own behavior but not for what other people do, teacher must be held accountable for what they do as teachers but not for what their students do as learners. Student are responsible for their own learning.”
Ultimately, this position is quite accurate. As Elliot Eisner acknowledges, it is the students who must integrate and make sense of new knowledge or practice new skills. Without their participation, it is possible that no learning will take place. In fact, in many states, high-stakes testing programs are holding students responsible for their learning by denying promotion, requiring summer school, and delaying graduation. But is learning solely the responsibility of students?
Most of us would agree that learning is a partnership between teachers and students in which both hold responsibility. Indeed, many educators believe that teaching has not taken place if students have not learned. Research clearly suggest that teachers and the quality of their instruction directly affect student learning. If teachers can influence learning, then is it not a professional obligation to promote the greatest amount of learning possible? As note in the report of the National Commission on Teaching & America’s Future, “A caring, competent, and qualified teacher foe every child is the most important ingredient in education reform and, we believe, the most frequently overlooked.