236 – Leading as Teachers

Everyone is at a different learning level, even within the same grade. The duty and responsibility of a teacher is to recognize these differences and accommodate each student.

Not all students are formal. In fact, most of the “students” you will “teach” might never cross your mind as students until decades later, if at all. The person on the street asking for directions, the man at the airport fumbling with his papers because he doesn’t know the system, the young cashier who can’t figure out why you gave $11 when the bill is only $6 and tries to give you the extra dollar bill back before making change .. everyone of these people is your student for the moment. Don’t let them know that you’re their teacher, just be kind and make sure they learn without knowing they did. Act a little dazed, if you must, just make sure they can figure it out.

My grandfather was wonderful at many things, except teaching how to tie shoes. He did it so fast that none of the grandchildren could understand. His sons would laugh while his daughters smiled and demonstrated how its done. He would have made a terrible flight attendant demonstrating pre-flight safety. All teaching material must be graded and understandable.

Everyone must learn everything we know. If you struggle with patience while other people are learning, it could be that you have not continued learning yourself; it could also be that you have not taken enough time to pause and teach others along your journey.

There are three main learning methods; we each have a forte: touch, sight, and sound. Some students need to have “experience” or “mass” in order to understand a concept. Multiplication tables might be easier with groups of legos just as government paperwork might make more sense if it is grouped with paperclips and stacked in order of processing.

Know the levels and styles of learning. Keep an ongoing self-awareness of your own increments of learning. The steps of learning are very, very small. They seem much bigger going through them than looking back. Remember what it was like. When you read about Jesus, remember that he is the best teacher who lived.