TEACHER AS RAIN DANCER

In this article, Simon Hole uses the metaphor of the teacher as rain d ancer to explore some aspects of the nature of being a teacher. Hole o bserves his teaching partner as she attempts to help her class democra tically elect reporters for a school newsletter. A dilemma emerges whe n her desire to satisfy one student's interest in this position collid es with her goal for the class to elect the reporters democratically. Hole uses his telling of this dilemma to provoke conversation among hi s 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 c lassroom-teachers' or students: Hole considers a moment in his own pra ctice when he feels acutely the tension created by facing a choice bet ween pursuing his students' agendas and his own.