Teach

“I only know that I know nothing at all.” So said Socrates, and yet, what a teacher.

For some time I looked for just the right teacher to help me at my particular state of need and, not finding one, decided to become one. Now I am always learning at precisely my level.

We hesitate because we know how our teachers have always known more than us. But, however little we know, there are always some who know less. And they may well appreciate our openness to share it.

A teacher knows a few things about his subject, of course, but more, it’s his enthusiasm for it that most enlightens others.

The art of teaching is, as much as anything, the art of suggesting. The student own imagination will take it from there.

And s/he’ll thank you for a long time to come.

But there is a honing for the teacher himself. Clarifying one’s own thoughts is one major benefit, that and organizing them. Then filling in the gaps where knowledge is still lacking is another. The teacher is always the student first.

Then, encountering new challenges in the process is another, the having to respond to questions you’ve not even countenanced yourself. All these things sharpen. And you may come to realize you know more than you thought you did, or at least at this moment are ready to receive.

It becomes almost incidental that you’re teaching others, when you’re learning so much yourself.

The learnable content of any subject is an infinite horizon. The best way to approach it, after you’ve garnered a few things, is to begin to teach.

It’s a way to define and devise your own curriculum, and you’ll find the teacher you’ve been looking for is you.

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FYI, I’m teaching mid-level painters in three venues this week.
A six-week evening class beginning Thursday evening.
A two-day workshop next weekend.
On-going coaching in my studio Mondays and Saturdays.
For info on any of these, e-mail me at moore@hyattmoore.com.