The Teacher

I remember recently watching a speech by a well-known world leader. In the speech, he said a lot of words. He seemed to be very focused on the idea that he knew a lot about this particular subject he had chosen to talk about, and that nobody had researched it better than him. Yet, he also pointed out that he didn't understand the subject at all. It made me wonder: If you've researched a subject more than anyone, and yet you still don't understand it, you either need to accept that it's a topic nobody is meant to fully grasp (like the meaning of life) or that perhaps you haven't been doing a very good job of researching. Maybe you should just stick to golfing, or tiddlywinks.

There was a point in my photography that I decided to start mentoring students. I wanted to share what I had learned over the years in photography. The man who taught me photography years ago believed in the concept of "ABC". Simply put, he was "A", and I was "B". So in teaching me, I became "AB", because I would carry a part of his teaching with me forever, seamlessly integrating it into what I already knew. In turn, when I taught someone, (who would be C) when I finished teaching them, they would be "ABC". Then, if they taught someone, and the person they taught was "D", they would end up being "ABCD". Naturally, the letters on the left begin to diminish as the ones on the right increase, but the smallest lessons leave traces of themselves as the sharing of knowledge travels onward.

One day, I was working with one of my students and I decided I was going to explain to her how aperture and shutter speed combined with ISO create a balance that results in exposure. She sat next to me, and I started to break down each concept into what I believed were understandable chunks of information. However, immediately I realized that I didn't fully understand everything I was trying to explain. Rather than admit to this, I tried to BS my way through it in such a way as to sound very intelligent without revealing my complete lack of understanding. Of course, what resulted was me saying "You see?" a lot of times, and the student saying "I guess."

Eventually, I said "Let's just go back to shooting. I want to show you some tricks for achieving the look you are wanting to emulate." When I stopped trying to teach what I didn't fully comprehend, and instead stuck to my strengths, everything was right with the world, and I was able to communicate effectively the concepts I understood. This is where knowledge and wisdom meet.

If you talk a lot, and feel the need to use many words so that you sound intelligent, you probably aren't ready to teach anyone. If you have the internal attitude of "Nobody knows more about this than I do. I've studied it more than anyone. So nobody is more capable of teaching this than me." then you have abandoned the crucial understanding that only a student can be a teacher.

Let me repeat that for those in the back--

Only a student can be a teacher.

Only a student can be a teacher.
Only a student can be a teacher.
Only a student can be a teacher.
Only a student can be a teacher.
Only a student can be a teacher.
Only a student can be a teacher. 

The moment you believe you are the teacher and are no longer a student, you have lost the ability to teach.

ONLY A STUDENT CAN BE A TEACHER.

Until next time. 😊