You Can Just Learn
One of the things I hear people complain about often is that nobody taught them a specific skill, strategy, or insight.
I have two problems with this. The first leads into the second.
- You alone are responsible for your learning, no matter how old you are.
- Just because you don’t remember it, doesn’t mean it wasn’t taught.
You are responsible for your own learning.
Nobody, no teacher, leader, parent, or anyone else cares as much about your own learning as you do.
Even if you don’t care yet, you are still the only one responsible for whatever you learn, whenever you learn it.
“Nobody taught me how to do a budget.”
“Nobody taught me how to be an effective teacher.”
“Nobody taught me how to be a parent.”
“Nobody taught me how to solve a problem.”
If we in schools start out with this philosophy, our education system will instantly get better. It won’t take a long time, either.
And here’s the kicker, you don’t need a teacher, objective, lesson, assignment, and test to learn.
You can just learn stuff.
It doesn’t have to be formal education.
Especially today, you can learn anything you want to, in doses large enough to meet your specific needs.
And if the thing you want to learn isn’t already published online somewhere, you have the ability to learn it from someone somewhere and then publish it yourself.
I was doing a presentation to teachers the other day, and one person complained that nobody had taught them how to use a specific technology tool in their classroom, as if they were waiting for someone to provide a professional development specifically on that tool in that content area in their specific situation, and nothing else would count.
This teacher, who is supposed to be teaching others, is according to his own admission, incapable of teaching himself.
Knowledge can only come from someone anointed to teach. He can’t be bothered to learn this on his own. How is this guy teaching our future?
Just because you don’t remember it, doesn’t mean it wasn’t taught
And here’s the worst part of this story, I have taught this fellow the specific tool he was complaining about and provided several different opportunities to help him improve and get better, and he is still saying he hasn’t been taught how to use it.
The other problem with this need for formalized class-based “teaching” is that we don’t retain 100% of what we are taught anyway!