Learning between the lines

There is much to be learned from every situation. Even when I was in elementary school and dreamed of being a teacher, I was learning more than just the curriculum from my teachers. I watched them and saw what made a good teacher and what made a bad teacher. I knew which teachers I wanted to be like, and which teachers had been good examples of what not to do. I doubt they even knew what they were doing at the time.

This continued through my undergraduate studies. More often than not, it was the quality of the teacher that determined what I thought of the class and the subject. I could readily identify those that knew more than just the subject matter, but also knew what they were doing with it. Not all teachers who are experts in their respective fields know how to then turn around and share that knowledge.

And of course there is the saying that “the only stupid question is the one that isn’t asked.” So it was an interesting experience for me recently when I asked a simple question, one that several people were wondering, and within five seconds was made to feel like an idiot by a teacher. I think I was more amazed at how fast it happened than anything else. And having witnessed it, I hope to be able to avoid doing the same to my students.