Teaching to Learn, Learning to Teach

mensional universe an infinite number of lines can pass through that point and remain paral-
lel with the line because they exist on different surfaces or planes. To complicate the matter
even further, scientists argue that in our universe space is really curved. What happens to
parallel lines then? They do not exist!
Each of these postulates about the universe leads to a different geometry. It is incredible,
but you can build a whole different system by changing one postulate. By examining this
principle in geometry, we help students explore the implications of their assumptions in
other fields as well. What I try to do while I teach math is have my class continually return to
the basic assumptions so they can see how later ideas were determined by their initial be-
liefs. I always ask my students, “How do we know something is true?” We discover that in
math, truth means that something is logically derived from our initial postulates. These fun-
damental ideas have profound meaning for all areas of study. They helps us understand as-
sumptions we make about ourselves and about society.
As a department chair, I try to draw on my experience to help other people become
better teachers. Just as with the students, some teachers resist my suggestions because
they think they know better than I do or because they are afraid to examine what they do
not know. I try to observe department members as frequently as possible and compliment
them even when they do something different from what I would. I have learned that one per-
son cannot change a school by her or himself. I depend on these people to help create a pos-
itive climate for learning, where I can be an effective teacher and accomplish my goals with
the students.

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JOIN THE CONVERSATION—LEARNING TO TEACH

Questions to Consider:

1. Rhonda writes that “a major aspect of what I am as a teacher are my beliefs. I am con-
   vinced that as human beings we all have the same ‘brain,’ so we all can learn. I also
   really feel that people have a responsibility toward each other and that the more our
   society educates teenagers, the better their lives will be, and the better the world will
   be.” Do you agree with these underlying beliefs? Explain your views.


2. The way Rhonda felt about school as a student was very much a reflection of how she
   was treated by her teachers and their expectations. Were your experiences similar to
   hers? Explain.
   3.Rhonda relates some of the experiences that shaped her development as a teacher.
   Which do you consider most crucial? Why?

For Jonathan Levin, Teacherby Alan Singer

I originally wrote this essay in 1997 in response to the murder of Jonathan Levin, a New York City
high school English teacher. A slightly different version was published in a local newspaper. This
was a painful essay to write and it is a painful essay to read, though I try to end it on a note of
hope. You have already met the other teachers I mention in the essay.—Alan Singer

Jonathan Levin was a popular and respected English teacher at William Howard Taft High
School in the Bronx, New York. Taft is a large inner-city high school with a student popula-

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