by Carolyn Welty

Created on: March 11, 2009   Last Updated: March 29, 2009

Nothing minimizes a teacher shortage. To imply that coupling students together takes the place of a classroom instructor is insulting, at best, and foolish, for sure. Of course it is beneficial to pare or group students for learning pruposes. Grouping mirrors real life, better than anything else. Problems are not solved in the corporate world by individuals-it takes a team to interact and promote workable solutions, just like it also does in the classroom. Cooperative learning is the best way to learn, and it is the best way to get things done in the working world.

That being said, the facilitator, or the teacher, is the key to getting the best results in the classroom. The teacher, first of all, creates the lesson or activity for the group to tackle. The teacher gives input, asks questions, and keeps the group moving along in a positive direction. Peers do not have the ability to motivate or question-or even help a reluctant learner or group member. What happens, in reality, is that the stronger peer actually does the work for the weaker student-which does not help the learning process at all. This does help the unmotivated or skill lacking student to learn how to coast along or how to lean on others for success. This is not the goal in the classroom, or in the working world, either. It happens, though, in both places.

Most of all, the teacher is needed for problem solving, much like a manager or supervisor is needed at work. In neither place does a peer have the ability or the authority to step up to the plate because this action will not work. No one takes real criticism, good or bad, from a peer because it has no meaning. Who takes direction from a peer? Suggestions and moral support come from equals, but guidance does not come from this direction.

I taught high school English for many years, and I can vouch for the peer tutor as a positive means of accomplishing many goals, the most noteworthy being that the slower learner definitely benefits from seeing the stronger learner in action.

The teacher's importance, however, can never be replaced in the classroom. Students need the teacher to keep the progress rolling along with the correct tempo and pace, When things go sour in a group situation, even a paired one, no one can make a success of a mess better than the teacher, who has the respect and the charge to make things happen. The whole class looks to the teacher for answers, and only the teacher can give them without causing chaos or trauma.

No one can replace the classroom teacher. Peers are not the answer to shortages, but used wisely, they are an important asset, good for overall learning, but never a replacement.

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