The Right to a Wrong Idea

Is it the teacher's job to decide what a student can think?

In my last post, I said something about how teaching comes in two flavors or styles: the sharing of gifts and the asking of questions. All well and good. But is the student always required to accept the teacher’s gift? Is the student required to give the answer the teacher wants?

If I teach that 2 + 2 = 4, is it okay if a student says, “No, it isn’t?” Ma…