Search

Careful analysis of educational slogans is a welcomed contribution to public debate. Slogans are ubiquitous in education, and too often we accept them at face value. In a recent article in the Canadian Journal of Education, Douglas Stewart (1993) takes on what he believes to be a serious threat to the enterprise of teaching. Alarm bells ring for him when he hears the slogan, "We facilitate learning, we don't teach." Stewart argues that it is mistaken to contrast teaching and facilitating as mutually exclusive concepts; such a contrast creates a false dichotomy. We concur with this observation and agree that some educators may characterize facilitating in opposition to teaching. From there on, however, we part company with Stewart. Stewart categorically dismisses proponents of facilitating for espousing an "alarming idea" (p. 1) that is "misleading and dangerous" (p. 2), that will "play havoc" with educational thinking (p. 1), and that "puts at risk the education of children" (p. 8). We reject this wholesale condemnation of the notion of facilitating on the grounds that Stewart's account seriously misconstrues what credible proponents advocate. We begin our rebuttal by summarizing Stewart's position and the reasons he offers in support of his interpretation of facilitating, then explain why and in what ways Stewart misrepresents the position of at least some of those who view teachers as facilitators of learning. In concluding, we outline and defend four principles that represent a more sensible interpretation of facilitating learning. Contrary to Stewart's alarms, these principles may serve the cause of good teaching.