Connecting the Gift

As part of enabling learning and studying properly, we need avoid some myths. Learning and teaching involves skills that need be learnt.
The goal is to streamline the process — both for students and us, so we can focus, chunk skills, and get things done. Understand how we actually teach and why some methods attitudes are effective and unavoidable.

The stereotypical teacher, like the ballet teacher we see in movies, criticizes the student:
“You are the worst rhythmic student I have ever had.”
“Your note positions are really bad.”
“Your fingers don’t move.”
“You have no musicality.”

But how is that a teacher?

Imagine taking your car to a workshop. The mechanic’s job is to repair the car. It’s not enough for him to criticize how bad the car is. He must find the delta — the difference he has to make — and then do whatever is possible within the given constraints and resources.

If a person only criticizes and tells how bad something is, it reminds me of the proverb: the person who cannot do it blames the tools.

The real job of a teacher is to identify how the student’s goals can be connected with their current skills. It is a lot of work. Not just whatever comes to mind.

An expert in yoga obviously cannot expect a beginner to be as flexible as she is — and that is not the goal. The goal is to move towards the student’s own objectives, identify the next one percent of progress — the positive gap — and provide further sub-competencies, corrections, underlying skills, mindsets, and focus areas to work on.

It’s a lot of skill and visualization. Crucial conversation. Subtle positive suggestions and communication.

When we look at it this way, it becomes clear that a teacher who primarily criticizes and points out what’s wrong, based on some imaginary idea of perfection, is at best a gatekeeper, a bully, or a bouncer. Yes, we all know them. 

The gifted, by definition, don’t need a teacher.

The real work of teaching involves much deeper skills — which can only be developed over time and through experience. It means seeing the human being who is sitting in front of you, understanding them, managing their discomfort, and, from a project-management point of view, giving the shortest possible steps that are challenging but not overwhelming.

It is not our job to criticize or judge someone else’s gifts. Our work is to lift, to connect each person’s gifts with their path.

“It’s easy to coach the good ones. The real test is what you can do with the others.” – Coach Wooden.