Getting the Most From Teachers
The relationship between instructor and learner is one that is extremely important to both parties. Learning on your own can be possible, but nothing equals the kind of help that a knowledgeable expert can provide. There is a great difference between a good teacher and a smart person, however. Just because, for example, a telluride ski instructor is in fact an excellent skier, does not necessarily mean they’ll be capable of giving quality telluride ski lessons. Someone who really knows what they’re doing both as a skier and as an instructor, though, can be an incredibly helpful teacher and nurture talent to an amazing degree.
Three things rely on how well this relationship will go. One is the mindset and skill of the student. This includes not only the talent they were born with and their level of knowledge up to that point, but also their humbleness and desire to lie at the feet of their teacher. Many teachers, while great, may at first provide lessons that the student feels are too difficult, not needed, or not even related to the apparent avenue of instruction. The Karate Kid gives a good example of this, while the character of the student is told to clean the car, “Wax on, wax off”, he views himself as merely fulfilling the chores of the old master. It is just after a few days that the student realizes he has been instructed in how to block and move his arms in a fight.
Of course this is a major simplification of the actual realities of learning from a teacher, but the essential fact is true. A student should be willing to accept a teachers lessons even though, at the moment, they may not see how what they are being given would have any benefit. There is a need to be humble, a need to acknowledge that one does not know it all, before real learning can take place.
The second aspect of the effectiveness of a teacher/student relationship is the teacher. Some teachers simply rely on a system with which to teach their students. While this might sometimes be effective, it has to be kept in mind that all students are different and will have different needs in order to be instructed most effectively. Simply teaching straight from a book will ensure students do not get the type of education that would be the best for them, and this will ultimately be damaging in the long run.
The last aspect is the actual way the two people interact with one another. A perfect teacher and ideal student will not always gel very well. It has to be kept in mind that social situations are often difficult, especially in a relationship like this one, and sometimes things will simply not work out, while no one is really at fault.
Overall, it’s down to both student and teacher to see what they can gain from each other, and how they can best accommodate the other so that each can gain the best experience possible.
by Sporting on January 31st, 2010 Tags: Benefit, Car Wax, Chores, Desire, Feet, Few Days, Humbleness, Karate Kid, Knowledgeable Expert, Learner, Mindset, Nurture, Realities, Simplification, Ski Instructor, Ski Lessons, Skier, Smart Person, Teacher Student Relationship, Telluride Ski, telluride ski instructor, telluride ski lessons
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