Learning about Teaching

I was given the opportunity to teach Middle School this Sunday and I took it without much thought. I enjoy teaching people and learning new things myself. Honestly though, I always end up learning more myself than what I end up teaching, it just happens that way. I also always get immensely frustrated with myself and what I am teaching because I don't normally fit into the "teacher" mold very well. I constantly compare myself with other people that I have seen or heard teach and I try and be like them. I also always think that I have to be perfect (Which I know I should try for, but will never happen) but never am. I end up spending far more time thinking about teaching about what I am going to say rather than learning myself and knowing the subject for myself. Very frustrating!

The Frustration leads me to question what I am doing wrong. I said at home last night for an hour or more wondering why I always have such a hard time teaching while others seem to be very natural at it. I freak-out and get no where, and others actually enjoy it. Why can't I be like them? I continued to question myself and even questioned Rachel about myself, "how can I teach this passage?" What I learned looking back is that I was asking the wrong question. I asked myself "how can I become like them, those that I have seen teach?" Instead I need to start asking myself, "how do I best teach? How do I best communicate truth to people?" Another way to ask it, "How can I become better at being the person God created rather than trying to be something else?"

With a solid question, I can now draw some good conclusions. Once I understood the question that I should be asking myself I knew all the conclusions that I have asked so far would have to change. Before I thought that I needed to try harder to fit the mold of "teacher" but now I am finding that I just don't fit the mold at all. The way I teach a story is vastly different than anyone else, because I am vastly different from everyone else. Rachel says, and I am near agreement, that I teach best with stories. I am not sure what that means exactly, but it was freeing enough to know that I can stop trying to force myself into that "teacher" mold that works with perfect outlines (the one with three main points and illustrations for each).

I don't think that I have made any progress in terms of knowing how I teach, but I at least stopped going backwards and can start forward. I have heard that 90% of problem solving involves just finding the problem. If that is the case, I am well on my way. But that last 10% is going to be tough. I have also heard that 43% of statistics are made up on the spot, or was it 64%. I can't remember (that is a joke for those that didn't catch it). It has been a pleasure learning with you.

Blessings from a pilgrim
Later