Teaching

, or navigating states and derivatives of a fluid process in real-time, to achieve a desired end within a human, emotional and flexible system. [This is how a science person moves into a world without numbers].

When you study an economic system, there are hard facts, there may be complex facts, and there may be many levels of relationships and connections; these relationships can often be considered static, but even if they aren’t, they move in ascertainable relationships with each other, and so don’t throw off a potential model of the situation. When you want to achieve a desired end in the system, you examine the model that you’ve created, and based on how certain pieces work together, you take certain actions. If you think inflation will happen, and want to protect yourself from that, but you don’t want to own gold, you can buy gold options, which can appreciate with the gold while not forcing you to buy gold. You may be worried that inherent risk in different markets will affect your purchase, but the changing states of other markets can be accounted for in your current actions.

Not so when teaching; or when trying to manage a group of 25 kids with plastic bottles, lots of energy, a big bag of bird seed, and the idea to somehow make bird feeders together. Although the reaction of other teachers taking in the scene after a bird seed fight is somewhat predictable…

The point is, teaching, coaching, managing a human system in a changing and free environment, are very new, often strange, and exceptionally important experiences for someone used to living in a technical world.

You can try to make a teaching plan, to map out what items you want to teach, then to integrate pieces of these learned facts into the next activity… But what happens when you never make it to the start of your plan, accidentally jump to the middle, then end up teaching vocab you didn’t think you’d get to all year?

Additionally, even if you stick to the plan, getting through the whole plan doesn’t necessarily mean that you actually taught anything.

Teaching people teaches you to pay attention to the people you’re teaching. That seems like it should be pretty obvious – but when you’re more focused on making a properly structured plan, and then hopefully getting through it, it can be kind of a realization.

Teaching isn’t a successfully accomplished task, or a performance, it’s a collaboration.

*in case you were wondering, bold means extra important.

Even project planning and execution stay closer to the technical side versus the teaching side of the continuum. What you have to do to accomplish the different steps of a project can change, based on evolving work and human situations, but the steps themselves don’t change (don’t forget the asterisked point above), and you don’t have to adjust your macro plan or structure in real time, as with teaching.

If you’ve never taught, you’re a lucky soul. But not really, as you’re missing out on a pretty great experience. When you try to get into it, good luck. Except for TEFL’s, they have it easy, they get the whole summer off…

Although it comes with the cost trying to control students, and keep them from lighting things on fire during class. As a COD (Community & Organizational Development) volunteer, it’s great to hear these stories from other people, without having to actually man the fire extinguisher. Haide Peace Corps.