What Drives Us All
I believe, however naive, that we are all born with the ability to teach.
That seems like a silly statement. What I mean is, I believe that everyone is borne a "teacher". It may not seem so, but the bastion on which modern civilization is constructed on is the principle of information exchange. Across the age scale, individuals teach everyday.
We just call it "communication".
You see, when an individuals shares a piece of information to another whether it is academic/relevant (i.e. "did you hear about the recent discovery in so and so?") or mundane (i.e. "did you know that so and so celebrity broke up with so and so?"), he/she is teaching. That individual has given another individual something new, and to me, that is the very essence of teaching. That is not to say that there is not an individual in this world who keeps to him/herself all the time, but I am speaking as a whole - that this is the case almost everywhere.
Evolution constructed us to teach so that we may uphold natural selection. It is a semi-altruistic gesture. The "cost" of expending the time and effort to explain some information is not rewarded with anything substantial other than the potential appreciation of such deliverance from another. In all organisms that teach, the purpose is to shortcut that discovery trial-and-error process to increase the species' chances of survival. While that is still true today, much of the teaching that individuals do is based on the idea that "I want you to know what I know."
Why?
Why are we compelled to share information with others? Why is it so irresistible to spread gossip?
I believe that this is because we are all innately teachers that have some sort of hard-wired pathway that provides a profound sense of satisfaction when knowledge and thus happiness is shared.
Of course, there are good teachers and poor teachers.
Knowledge does not make one a good teacher. It is essential for a great teacher, but having it alone does not make one great. I think that the great teachers in this world are incredibly nosy people as well as great lovers.
Most people are satisfied with spreading information to others. We broadcast updates that relevant to us to our friends, family, or whomever else, but for most people, it ends at that. Good teachers are those who are willing to spread information to strangers repeatedly time and time again - quarterly, semesterly, whatever the curriculum dictates. Information bothers them like that bubbling irritation that one suppresses until it surfaces in an explosion of words and expression. The happiness that can be gained from knowing is so important that it must be shared with as many people as possible.
Most people are satisfied with the idea that as long as the people they care about are happy, it is good enough. Teachers, on the other hand, are not sated with just that.
Great teachers, I believe, are also great lovers. They are passionate about what they teach. They love it so much that it cannot be contained to just themselves. It is sort of like how individuals become parents.
The world must know about it!
The information is too important. Too great. These individuals are dedicated lovers to what they preach. So much that they would examine and obsess over their knowledge enough that they may articulate it in a fashion that becomes "universal". Just like how each good parent is driven to express to everyone just how cute and how lovely his/her child is. There is a protective and slightly-disturbingly obsessive sense of love to these intangible things. These great teachers inspire others when they can spark obsession in another individual.
I think it is an understatement to say that I very much admire teachers. (No, really?)
Lately, I feel like even more so than medicine, I love teaching. Having parents who were/are teachers kind of biases you, and so does being the eldest child in the family of three children. More so than the medicine, I have found the part that brings me the greatest joy and satisfaction is when I share what I have learnt to someone else and see them light up with fascination.
I do not consider myself a good teacher, but I nevertheless try hard to become one.
The school year is coming to a close, and my students are taking their final exams, this terrible nostalgia hits me. I have, of course, complained about difficult students and investing so much time to prepare materials for my students, but I have realized (more than a couple of times in these last couple of years) that what matters to me more than the money I am compensated is that "Wow! That's really cool!" when I connect the dots between textbook and application. What matters the most is when my students find a sense of relieved happiness when they successfully complete a difficult problem on their own after being taught. I guess that is what it feels like when a parent feels the warm glow of pride of their child who clumsily figures out how to do the things that we do everyday.
With the thank you notes and occasional gifts coming in, I cannot help but feel a little like I am sending my child off into the world (or just college) - that slight nostalgia and teary closure feels so final and doomed. It is that closing door of imparting more knowledge to them and inspiring that relieved joy of "I got it!" that disappoints me. I assured all of my students that they can come to me for any questions in the future, academic or otherwise, but really, that assurance is for myself.
What a silly, nosy person I have become.
I just hope that I can become even nosier in the future.
That seems like a silly statement. What I mean is, I believe that everyone is borne a "teacher". It may not seem so, but the bastion on which modern civilization is constructed on is the principle of information exchange. Across the age scale, individuals teach everyday.
We just call it "communication".
You see, when an individuals shares a piece of information to another whether it is academic/relevant (i.e. "did you hear about the recent discovery in so and so?") or mundane (i.e. "did you know that so and so celebrity broke up with so and so?"), he/she is teaching. That individual has given another individual something new, and to me, that is the very essence of teaching. That is not to say that there is not an individual in this world who keeps to him/herself all the time, but I am speaking as a whole - that this is the case almost everywhere.
Evolution constructed us to teach so that we may uphold natural selection. It is a semi-altruistic gesture. The "cost" of expending the time and effort to explain some information is not rewarded with anything substantial other than the potential appreciation of such deliverance from another. In all organisms that teach, the purpose is to shortcut that discovery trial-and-error process to increase the species' chances of survival. While that is still true today, much of the teaching that individuals do is based on the idea that "I want you to know what I know."
Why?
Why are we compelled to share information with others? Why is it so irresistible to spread gossip?
I believe that this is because we are all innately teachers that have some sort of hard-wired pathway that provides a profound sense of satisfaction when knowledge and thus happiness is shared.
Of course, there are good teachers and poor teachers.
Knowledge does not make one a good teacher. It is essential for a great teacher, but having it alone does not make one great. I think that the great teachers in this world are incredibly nosy people as well as great lovers.
Most people are satisfied with spreading information to others. We broadcast updates that relevant to us to our friends, family, or whomever else, but for most people, it ends at that. Good teachers are those who are willing to spread information to strangers repeatedly time and time again - quarterly, semesterly, whatever the curriculum dictates. Information bothers them like that bubbling irritation that one suppresses until it surfaces in an explosion of words and expression. The happiness that can be gained from knowing is so important that it must be shared with as many people as possible.
Most people are satisfied with the idea that as long as the people they care about are happy, it is good enough. Teachers, on the other hand, are not sated with just that.
Great teachers, I believe, are also great lovers. They are passionate about what they teach. They love it so much that it cannot be contained to just themselves. It is sort of like how individuals become parents.
The world must know about it!
The information is too important. Too great. These individuals are dedicated lovers to what they preach. So much that they would examine and obsess over their knowledge enough that they may articulate it in a fashion that becomes "universal". Just like how each good parent is driven to express to everyone just how cute and how lovely his/her child is. There is a protective and slightly-disturbingly obsessive sense of love to these intangible things. These great teachers inspire others when they can spark obsession in another individual.
I think it is an understatement to say that I very much admire teachers. (No, really?)
Lately, I feel like even more so than medicine, I love teaching. Having parents who were/are teachers kind of biases you, and so does being the eldest child in the family of three children. More so than the medicine, I have found the part that brings me the greatest joy and satisfaction is when I share what I have learnt to someone else and see them light up with fascination.
I do not consider myself a good teacher, but I nevertheless try hard to become one.
The school year is coming to a close, and my students are taking their final exams, this terrible nostalgia hits me. I have, of course, complained about difficult students and investing so much time to prepare materials for my students, but I have realized (more than a couple of times in these last couple of years) that what matters to me more than the money I am compensated is that "Wow! That's really cool!" when I connect the dots between textbook and application. What matters the most is when my students find a sense of relieved happiness when they successfully complete a difficult problem on their own after being taught. I guess that is what it feels like when a parent feels the warm glow of pride of their child who clumsily figures out how to do the things that we do everyday.
With the thank you notes and occasional gifts coming in, I cannot help but feel a little like I am sending my child off into the world (or just college) - that slight nostalgia and teary closure feels so final and doomed. It is that closing door of imparting more knowledge to them and inspiring that relieved joy of "I got it!" that disappoints me. I assured all of my students that they can come to me for any questions in the future, academic or otherwise, but really, that assurance is for myself.
What a silly, nosy person I have become.
I just hope that I can become even nosier in the future.
Comments
Post a Comment