Teaching machine/Learning machine

I used to think that being a teacher and being a student were two very different things. I no longer believe this to be be true. The lines, for me at least, have become increasingly blurred over the past couple of decades.

The first student I ever had is still with me; I see him every time I look in the mirror. I walk that student step-by-step through every learning process I can conjure up; sometimes I fail; at other times I succeed. I am as patient with that student as he must be with me. 

If forced to choose between being teacher or student, I would choose the latter. Life demands we become adept at learning - as we begin to master this most fundamental of arts, we might choose to share the how and why of it with others ... this is how teachers are born. 

Some possible chapters for the book that a hundred people have asked me to write:

• be a coaching/learning outlier
• going broad vs going deep
• building trust 
• it’s more complicated than we think
• communication
• building report
• know your subject
• understand your ‘why’
• process vs goal
• learning/teaching and money
• in for the long haul
• the importance of design
• the learning environment
• controlling the class
• selling mangoes in an apple market
• collateral benefits
• solving the problem
• immersive learning
• distilled verbal commands
• personal learning strategies
• creating and maintaining culture
• it’s a collaboration