Teaching and Learning
When I was a child at school, I don’t think I every really understood the dynamic of the teaching environment. Maybe it was conditioning from my parents, or it could have been wider societal viewpoint that I acquired, but I always thought that the quality of my learning could mainly be attributed to the quality of teaching I received.
Now I am older and wiser, I can see in retrospect the error of my ways, for whatever the reason (I don’t think it really matters), I did not fully accept my responsibility for learning.
This is a bit of a random thought you may think…
Great Teachers
One of my favourite authors is Paulo Coelho, while reading one of his books I came across this quote:
Teaching is only demonstrating that it is possible.
Learning is making it possible for yourself.
– Paulo Coelho
Reading this quote prompted me to reflect on my own experiences of teaching and learning. Luckily, when I was at school, I had some great teachers that introduced me to such concepts such as your OWL (Optimum Way of Learning), hell, this stuff resonated with me so much, I still use it today and have written a whole toolkit about it!
Maybe it is just me and the way that I think, but the thing that was missing for me was being told an explicit truth as above that clearly demarks the responsibility that I had/have in the teaching and learning dynamic.
You can take a horse to water but you can’t make it drink…
Life
As with all things in life we must accept responsibility for what we can control and accept what we cannot control. Learning does require great teaching, but even more important is that we must be willing to accept responsibility for out own learning journey and making the knowledge we are given practical and possible for ourselves.
Sharing
How do these words resonate with you? What perspective have you given your children on this matter? How does this information shine a light on career progression and your work place dynamic?
Things for you to ponder…
That is, if you choose to accept responsibility for your thoughts and actions.
Enjoy, for now.