English

A sage on the stage

Alternative forms

• sage on a stage

Noun

sage on the stage ‎(plural sages on the stage or sages on stages)

1. (education, sometimes mildly derogatory) An educator, especially at the postsecondary level, who imparts knowledge by lecturing to an audience; the method of imparting knowledge used by such an educator.
   • 1981 August 6, "‘Gifted Students’ Classes Offered," Harlan Daily Enterprise (USA), p. 5 (retrieved 1 Sept 2013):

     Mrs. Johnson said the teacher for the gifted and talented will be more of a "guide on the side" rather than a "sage on the stage."

   • 2006 August 25, Nina Vizcarrondo, "Sci-Fi Today, Sci-Fact Tomorrow," Time (retrieved 1 Sept 2013):

     Case Western has always been an advocate of what Williams calls the "sage on the stage versus the guide on the side" learning method.

   • 2011 Dec. 15, Robert D. Dinerstein, "Limitations to the Method," New York Times (retrieved 1 Sept 2013):

     But the limitations of the method as usually employed — . . . its fostering of passivity on the part of those students not involved in the dialogue, and its privileging of the professor as the sage on the stage — are serious impediments.

See also

• guide on the side