The mediocre teacher tells.
The good teacher explains.
The superior teacher demonstrates.
The great teacher inspires.– William Arthur Ward
I think we have all had different kinds of teachers in our lives. I thought it would be interesting to share a positive learning experience. Please offer your stories in a comment.
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What a great quote, its so true. Unfortunately, in a world where sports aptitude is more valued than literacy and education, a lot of teachers stop caring. I had a handful of great teachers in high school (and even one in grade school) that I will never forget. They were the inspiring kind, and though they were mostly ignored or taken advantage of, they didn’t lose spirit. I admire them for all they do and have done.
It was my second winter living in Pescadero and I was out of firewood. I had a real problem paying for wood while *living in the woods*, so I asked around if anyone had “extra” wood lying about. My friend Ernie Elliot from my yoga class said to come on by… I showed up with my big strong friend Mark and his big truck, ready to load up a big pile ‘o wood. Ernie brought me to the wood pile and demonstrated how to split the rounds with a (heavy!)maul. While watching him, I realized that HE EXPECTED ME TO SPLIT ALL OF THE WOOD MYSELF! I thought, “Is he f**king kidding??! Anyway, mostly because Ernie and Mark were watching, and partly because I like a challenge, I spent the next hour (after a few false starts!) splitting wood. I filled the back of the truck all by myself. A couple of years later, at Ernie’s memorial service, I was one of many who got up and told an Ernie story about how he expected so much more of us than we did of ourselves. He would teach a little and then step back and let you go. Ernie was a truly inspirational teacher!