Spotlight Article
TEACHER — TEACHER — TEACHER
When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.
To learn something, teach it.
Who is the student and who is the teacher?
Are you the student or the teacher?
You are both. We all are both. Those whom we teach, teach us as much or more than we teach them. It is the ying and yang of learning.
Learning is a daily event and is not restricted to the classroom. Learning is life itself. Schools have tests, but the real test is life itself. In life when we do not learn, we repeat the lesson until we learn it.
How often have you said, ‘Oh no, not this again?” That is a lesson you needed and did not learn. Think of those who divorce someone and then marry the same type of person again. What about the person who leaves a job due to a personality issue only to move to a new employer and be faced with the same personality issue again? Do you dare list how many times that has happened to you in your life?
Are you aware of the teachers that have entered your life? If you reflect, you will see that many who entered your life were teachers. There is no doubt that some appeared to be and were tormentors to you. Often your greatest teachers were also your greatest torments. Was that one of your parents? Often, it is. Sometimes it is a co-worker or boss.
Kids are the greatest teachers. In teaching them, we learn as much or more than they do. Kids are free spirits, fearless, and uninhibited. How much better off would you be if you were the same? How often are you held back? Learning from the kids, you’ll realize it is yourself that is holding you back. You are the problem. You are also the solution.
Teaching is also by example. You can’t tell people to do one thing, and you do another. People learn by watching you and you them.
We learn great lessons by watching others do the wrong thing. How often have you seen someone hurt himself or another while you watched the destruction? Do you remember knowing it was wrong and watching in amazement? That was a valuable lesson in the hopes you will not make that mistake yourself. Seeing others make mistakes helps you to learn not to make the same mistake.
Reality television has taught us much. The Apprentice was one of the first. The contestants were all taped talking about the others in private and then shown as part of the show. For the first season you can see how it would happen, but also, how wrong it was in speaking to the camera about the others. The amazing thing is that future contestants, that had seen the show and the effects of talking about others, still did it. They didn’t learn and often that speaking of others hurt them. To me, it was amazing that the lesson was not learned.
Remember, you teach by what you do, and you learn by what you see and what you experience. You are always teaching and always learning. Be aware and make the most of it for yourself and others.