The last few days at work I've been teaching a couple of people some new skills. I was honored to be asked; I'm excited to be able to pass on what I've learned. And I've discovered something interesting.
When I was in my 20's, I thought that I would like to be a teacher - I had been told that I would be one and I figured that teachers worked in schools. (Not all do, but it took me a while to think outside the box.) Since I'm a short person, I chose elementary school as my area of specialization, since I figured that most of the kids would be shorter than I was. (I know - it was a pretty poor reason). While I was doing my practicum, I learned a very important lesson. I didn't like teaching people who didn't want to be taught, who were only there because it was mandatory. They HAD to go to school; their hearts weren't in it - and soon, neither was mine.
But in the stints I've had as a Sunday School teacher (adult class, so people wanted to come) and now in teaching these people at work, what I've discovered is that I love teaching people who want to learn.
It's hard to describe the feeling of seeing someone understand something new for the first time after having it explained to him / her. It's what every teacher lives for; I did see it when I was practice-teaching in elementary school. Occasionally. I had a curriculum to guide me back then. But teaching adults has the added challenge of making ME think because while kids might look at you blankly if they don't understand (and you never know what it is they don't understand because they're too embarrassed to ask questions) adults who want to learn WILL ask questions. The more they learn, the tougher the questions are - and even the more foundational questions make me think about why we do things a certain way and not a different way. Explaining new information in terms that people can understand is a challenge, and it's helping me to think on my feet (click here for my previous post on that topic) - I stumble a bit, but I'm learning to roll with it and keep going.
Hm! Who knew?
When I was in my 20's, I thought that I would like to be a teacher - I had been told that I would be one and I figured that teachers worked in schools. (Not all do, but it took me a while to think outside the box.) Since I'm a short person, I chose elementary school as my area of specialization, since I figured that most of the kids would be shorter than I was. (I know - it was a pretty poor reason). While I was doing my practicum, I learned a very important lesson. I didn't like teaching people who didn't want to be taught, who were only there because it was mandatory. They HAD to go to school; their hearts weren't in it - and soon, neither was mine.
It's hard to describe the feeling of seeing someone understand something new for the first time after having it explained to him / her. It's what every teacher lives for; I did see it when I was practice-teaching in elementary school. Occasionally. I had a curriculum to guide me back then. But teaching adults has the added challenge of making ME think because while kids might look at you blankly if they don't understand (and you never know what it is they don't understand because they're too embarrassed to ask questions) adults who want to learn WILL ask questions. The more they learn, the tougher the questions are - and even the more foundational questions make me think about why we do things a certain way and not a different way. Explaining new information in terms that people can understand is a challenge, and it's helping me to think on my feet (click here for my previous post on that topic) - I stumble a bit, but I'm learning to roll with it and keep going.
Hm! Who knew?
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