Student centered philosophies of teaching as pedagogical paradox.The idea of student centered teaching is complex. In this study I approachthis subject by the notion of student activity and student discovery. Through these concepts the idea of having the student as point of departure becomes most distinct in the sense that the teachers knowledge is put more or less in the background in order to support the knowledge of the student. This idea may, however, be problemized by investigating the social interaction in the classroom. Through an empirical and theoretical investigation of typical situations in the classroom I develop three main conclusions: the student is always a subject in a web of social interactions with other participants, and

not a private discoverer; the active and discovering student is more or less dependent on the teachers professionally recognized knowledge, and, finally; some students are better prepared for doing active discoveries than other students, which makes their dependence on the teacher even more visible. It is argued that the notion of activity and discovery has to be reformulated to include the social interaction with the teacher in order to be a practical possibility in the everyday life of the classroom.