But not all adults will become self-directed when told. On the other hand, I cannot leave the students by themselves. The opposite of these two possibilities is being radically democratic. That means accepting the directive nature of education. Every stage requires balancing the teacher's power with the student's emerging self-direction.
Most people seem to think that there is one way to teach well.
Good teaching does two things. Good teaching is situational, yet it promotes the long-term development of the student. Conflicts among teachers with different styles. In typical polarizing fashion, each group compares its virtues to the other's faults. A similar point is made concerning the debate about andragogy in adult education.