Psalm 119: 97–103 Learners can know more than their teachers in the sense that they are filled with a sense of God. As God knows all things and is the end all, be all, the learner who realizes this truth is like the Psalmist—wiser than all others. The educator who, like the Psalmist, also keeps the Word of God with him at all times is actually in the same boat—so it is important to remember that in Psalm 119:97-103 what we are talking about is a spiritual wisdom, not an earthly or academic wisdom. The spiritual wisdom of David, for instance, is what allowed him to be so near to God in the first place—to be after God’s own heart. That kind of wisdom surpasses all other knowledge because it makes one holy and beautiful to God.

In terms of earthly wisdom and understanding, however, the role of the educator is to help students acquire secular knowledge—information that they can use to facilitate their calling in life, whatever it is. So the educator can help to teach spelling or reading, writing or arithmetic, science or history. All of that is knowledge that a teacher can teach; it...

It is more like learning that is of the world, that can be used to get a job, to develop a career, or to communicate more effectively with others.
The balance between teachers and learners is a kind of balance between the spirit and the world. The learner who is of the spirit is indeed near to God and beloved by God. A teacher who is of the world can help the learner to navigate this world more successfully, while the learner who is of the spirit can help the teacher to be mindful of the things of God. The two can really balance one another out in the sense that each has what the other is lacking.

The learner in the 21st century may have an edge over educators who grew up in a non-digital world because the learner has access to information that the teacher may not know how to navigate—namely the Internet. The Internet is like the great library of Alexandria: everything was there, all the information that one could want. Learners who are self-motivated and capable of self-directed learning can really use the Internet to become…