The Myth of the All-Knowing Teacher

The teacher knows. The student doesn't.

That's the script we've been following for 200 years.

What if it's backwards?

Last week, our nine-year-olds couldn't figure out an assembly line. They were doing it all wrong. I knew the answer.

I walked away.

An hour later, they solved it themselves.

Not perfectly. But they owned it.

Here's the thing about teaching

The moment you give someone the answer is the moment they stop learning.

We do it anyway. Because it's faster. Because it makes us feel important. Because messy learning looks like chaos.

But mostly, we do it because we're scared.

Scared that without us dispensing wisdom, nothing will happen.
Scared that children can't possibly figure things out.
Scared of what it means if they can.

At Flourish, guides don't answer questions. They ask better ones.

"I'm stuck." 
"What have you tried?"
"This."
"What's next?"

That's it. That's enough.

A 10-year-old teaching an 8-year-old fractions creates magic no adult can match.

Why?

Because she was confused yesterday. She speaks kid. She gets it.

Parents want immediate results. Memorization looks like progress.
Understanding takes time.

Most don't have the patience.

The few who do? Their kids gain three grade levels a year.

The all-knowing teacher is a comfortable myth.

Comfortable for adults.

Devastating for children.

You have a choice.

Keep pretending you have all the answers.

Or step aside and watch them fly.