Where Ideas, Experiences, and Lessons Learned Intersect

Why do you want to teach?

Posted on January 24, 2014 Updated on November 30, 2023

In the past, I wrote about how I like to read, experiment, and learn as much as possible about as many things as possible. My goal isn’t to be the Jack of all trades and Master of none. Rather, I view knowledge and experience as pieces that can be used to build a mosaic of something interesting and/or worthwhile.

Years ago, when I first started programming, my manager had me work with the top performers in the group. Being inquisitive and always wanting to improve led me to ask many questions to understand why things were done the way they were. One Analyst I worked with was extremely sensitive, and after fielding a few questions, he told me, “Programming is like art. Two people will interpret things differently, but you will have two similar pictures in the end, and both do the job. So, quit messing with my picture.”

At first, I was somewhat offended, but then I realized that much of what he stated was true. That led me to incorporate better methods and approaches into what I did, making them my own to continually improve. From that perspective, learning really is somewhat of an art form.

What makes teaching worthwhile to me is helping people improve in ways that are their own rather than teaching them how to do things in one specific “right” way. One analogy is that you teach people to navigate rather than provide them with the route. Also, in order to be a good teacher, you need to have a solid grasp on the topic, be willing and able to relate to students, and want to help them learn. It’s rewarding on a couple of different levels.

Your ability to teach well starts with understanding the topic, but that is the foundation. Applying seemingly abstract concepts to concrete problems is a very helpful skill. In medicine, they have the concept of “See one, Do one, Teach one.” It is a great way to codify knowledge and develop desired skills.

Being open to other approaches that might seem strange at first, but then you see the brilliance in the solution is also helpful. Often a student would mention how they handled a problem, which sounded bizarre at first, but digging deeper into their approach resulted in understanding something pretty amazing.

Amazing teachers are out there, and I’ve met several of them. Those people are worth their weight in gold – especially when teaching children. They have their own kind of “magic” that can inspire people and provide the confidence and desire to do and learn more than they ever dreamed was possible.

Teaching is about helping others and not trying to be the smartest person in the room. And remember, not everyone wants to learn and/or improve, so don’t take that personally. Just do your best to help the people who want to grow and improve. Mentoring is another good way to do this. You will be surprised at the positive impact one person can have by doing this.