[emptytheory]

"The reason I did not continue on to teach physics was partially due to an insistence that it was teachers who needed to expend more effort to make classes "fit" a student's preferences so that their learning would be a gradual climb."

What's wrong with that?

"You learn material by flailing, not by floating."

Why do you believe that?

[relaytheurgency]

Because in practice it's impossible to do what is being asked. Maybe if your class size was six students, but that's the case basically nowhere. I believe that learning is best achieved when people struggle greatly. If someone is cautiously guided through every problem in life, or in education, they will possess a sense that they know how to do something because they have seen it done by others and they were guided through it a few times. However, when it comes time to actually do the thing they often do not recall it. It's what the article is about. Did you read it?

When I studied physics in college I learned at a much faster rate than I had in the past because I had to often teach myself. I have heard this from others as well. Coddling students and handing them information, letting them climb without falling, seems to yield pretty pathetic results.

[collyw]

>I believe that learning is best achieved when people struggle greatly.

I personally find "a bit of struggle" is probably the best way to learn.

There are a few things I have trried to learn, and made it more difficult than need be (Trying to learn JavaScript and Angular together, Spanish classes that were too advanced for my level). I feel like I learned more when I went back and did some more basic JavaScript, and classes that were at the appropriate level for me, rather than taking on too much, and just being overwhelmed.

[emptytheory]

"It's what the article is about. Did you read it?"

Arranging a course so that your students never struggle with the material is one thing. Never bending to your students' needs, as a teacher, is another. A teacher can provide a lot of opportunities for the students to struggle with the material. But I think it's ridiculous (and lazy) to teach without any regard for pedagogy, especially with high school students.

I know exactly what the point of the article is. Thanks for asking.

By the way, "cautiously [guiding them] through every problem in life, or in education" communicates a very different thing from "[putting in] more effort to make classes "fit" a student's preferences".

[relaytheurgency]

"More" implies that some is already being done, for the most part. I don't want to get into an Internet argument with someone about pedagogy because obviously there's no objectively correct answer. But you can believe what you want to believe and go become a teacher if you'd like. Administrators often want your students to never struggle. This is pushed upon teachers, especially new ones, even in their learning. I was lucky enough not to just have a degree in education so I left pretty quickly, but while I was teaching I was pushed to dumb down my material so that every student could achieve an A. I was told to fit my student's every preference so that they might get an A in the class. Not everyone should get an A in the class.