Teachers should be revered and respected, because it takes a special soul to educate others, whether children, young adults, or older adults such as myself.
Captain’s family has a multitude of teachers going back to his Granmma Brogan who was a county extension agent in the 1940s. I say that is a high accomplishment for a woman of that era!
Her children and grandchildren carried on the proud tradition with two of her daughters, a son-in-law, and a granddaughter who are either retired or active teachers. Go Brogans!
Not all teaching happens in a school classroom. I have been a Sunday school teacher on two separate occasions for 7th graders. I liked that age because they were young enough yet to fear authority (that would be me) and old enough to have questions. You can’t learn if you don’t ask questions.
Not all teaching is done by “teachers,” either. Captain’s cousin is the wrestling coach for the John Marshall Rockets, and I know darn good and well that he passes on wisdom and knowledge to each athlete that he works with, just like his dad, Captain’s uncle, did for the Austin Pacelli track team for many years.
I coached the Pine Island FFA Parli Pro (parliamentary procedure) team for four years. In that time, I would like to think that above and beyond the rudiments of Robert’s Rules of Order, I taught the kids other things, important things, like team work, dedication, respect, and perseverance. I also had to help them learn how to handle the disappointment of losing as well as how to win graciously.
Teaching is also often part of the work place, as employees transition to new or different roles. Effective training goes a long way to easing that “why did I think this was a good idea” feeling that often comes with a job transition.
Sometimes those who teach or train aren’t effective in that they either just give a quick explanation and then expect the trainee to magically know how to do everything the trainer did, or they do everything while the trainee only watches but never actually lets the trainee do the tasks.
Personally, I lucked out beyond belief. The young lady who trained me--I’ll call her Trixie--was the perfect example of effective teaching. She had an outline of what tasks or duties needed to be discussed, and she allowed plenty of time to do so.
She didn’t just show me how or what to do, she walked me through the steps once or twice, and then she simply watched silently as I continued. If I caught myself in a mistake or error, she was right there with a “great job” or other compliment.
Even when I had countless questions or forgot something we had gone over, she always graciously answered or reiterated what I needed to know--no matter how many times I asked the same question. Even today, which was my first day “solo” and her very busy first day of training for her new job, she was available when I had questions...silly questions, even.
I’m glad that Trixie was my teacher for this job. It was clear from watching the interaction between her and those she supported how much her team counted on her to be accurate, prompt, and resourceful. I only hope that I can live up to her standards and that someday when I have to train someone in to take over my job, I can be as effective and courteous as she has been to me.
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