Teaching

"A mind is a fire to be kindled, not a vessel to be filled."
--Plutarch

I am a teacher. Well, I am technically a trainer, but I do the same thing a teacher does... with better pay and fewer disciplinary issues. But at work I frequently feel like I am dumping information into a vessel rather than kindling a fire of individual thought, curiosity, and true learning.

I taught Sunday School today in my ward, and it reminded me how much I sincerely love to teach. I love to listen to the comments people make and see how the things we say can influence each other's perception of or reaction to an idea, principle, or person.

One of the things I love most about teaching is watching students or class members experience those "aha" moments when all of the parts snap into place and they suddenly "get it." I have no idea who this guy Stephen Brookfield is, but I love the way he explains it:


"We teach what we like to learn and the reason many people go into teaching is vicariously to reexperience the primary joy experienced the first time they learned something they loved."
--Stephen Brookfield