Voices Inside Schools - Teacher as Rain Dancer

In this article, Simon Hole uses the metaphor of the teacher as rain dancer to explore some aspects of the nature of being a teacher. Hole observes his teaching partner as she attempts to help her class democratically elect reporters for a school newsletter. A dilemma emerges when her desire to satisfy one student's interest in this position collides with her goal for the class to elect the reporters democratically. Hole uses his telling of this dilemma to provoke conversation among his colleagues about the tensions inherent in trying to meet conflicting classroom needs. Reflecting on his colleagues' dilemmas and responses to them, he raises the question of whose needs are being met in the classroom—teachers' or students'. Hole considers a moment in his own practice when he feels acutely the tension created by facing a choice between pursuing his students' agendas and his own.