First of all, sorry for the delay in response. I left for vacation the day you put in your comment and had no access to the internet until today (thankfully, I might add ). There is a quite a bit to this comment and I am glad you took the time to provide a thoughtful response. I believe the key difference in what I have seen and what you are saying is as follows – sometimes we aren’t ready to learn and that is precisely the time a good teacher can make all the difference by pushing (sometimes subtly and sometimes aggressively) the student. It’s actually a daily occurrence in a martial arts setting focused on true personal development. Let me give you an example. Probably the most relevant and regular “pushing” I give students is to tell them that when they don’t feel like training, that is absolutely the most critical time you need to get onto the dojo floor. We can think of a million reasons to not do something (show up, participate, learn) and find them and shut off from learning. When you do something for learning/self improvement even when you “don’t feel like it” that is when real progress is made. Quite simply that is probably the number way anyone reaches black belt. And this principle applies to anyone in any setting, it does not have to be martial arts oriented by any means.

Now I will agree with you that a student does determine when they are more receptive to learning but that does not necessarily equate to all the negative issues we face when something isn’t going well (e.g. I don’t understand integrals in calculus or I can’t understand this section of real estate law) so the student shuts down.

The real key for any teacher is to recognize this situations individual situations and then apply the right levers to allow the student to make progress. In my opinion that is real teaching.

Thank you for the terrific comment, another blog post is in here I am sure!

Marc

Such a great reminder of a simple lesson. I believe that every action we take in every moment influences the world. So we have to take responsibility for our actions and the impact they can have. When we act with integrity and respect others, the lesson is shared. You are a great teacher and explain concepts clearly – thank you!

Phil

I have a different perspective on this. I think we know inside already what we want and need to learn. We only learn when we are ready and willing and able. Other people may offer information or guidance, but they cannot impose their knowledge upon us. Perhaps it is semantics, but a teacher does not determine the learning, the student does. I agree it’s important to recognize those who offer us that guidance and wisdom and knowledge, and yet not give all credence and credit to that person. I do agree that we can each be leaders and role models, that it’s important to offer others our knowledge with humility, not ego, and allow them to take what they need to see and hear, not what we think they need. Make any sense? What do you think?

Linda

Thanks for mentioning the ebook! As someone who took martial arts for 7 years (I started at the age of 8 and loved it; I really want to get back into it), I can appreciate and relate to a lot of what you write here.

I think one of the greatest things we can learn is that everyone and everything can teach us something, so long as we’re keen to learn and find the lesson.

Thank you for your awesome contribution to the blogosphere!