This article concluded with a quotation by Carl Jung that I like:

The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed. (Robertson, 1996, p. 50)

This article argues that teachers — especially adult educators — must “establish educational helping relationships with learners and to promote transformative learning within the context of these relationships” (p. 41).  The article didn’t really further my thinking very much, although I do agree that “a teacher-learner-centered, systemocentric perspective should replace the purely learner-centered, aliocentric approach (Robertson, 1996)” (p. 47). I think focusing on both learner and teacher encourages shared energy (something I discussed in my conversation paper) and is simply more true to reality (teaching presence is important). I also agree that “teaching in its most efficacious form is a helping relationship” (p. 49).

References

Robertson, D. L. (1996). Facilitating Transformative Learning: Attending to the Dynamics of the Educational Helping Relationship. Adult Education Quarterly 47(1): 41-53. doi:10.1177/074171369604700104. http://aeq.sagepub.com/cgi/doi/10.1177/074171369604700104.