We are all teachers

Yes I am glad I had the opportunity to teach. When I was a little girl, I remember lining up my dolls around the room facing toward the front, their still eyes staring back at me as I instructed them on whatever I had learned in school that day. I’m sure the inclination was in my genes as many relatives on my Daddy’s side are educators. But as an adjunct clinical instructor, I wasn’t in a regular classroom, and I was pretty much given free reign over what to say. When I went to my school for the last time this week, I picked up a stack of evaluations the students had done on me that reminded me why I was doing it. And I wondered if a student would take with them anything I ever said, if I would be remembered, if I helped in any way, if I made a positive difference. I know I learned a lot from them just as I do from my patients.

I imagine only a small percentage of actual learning actually comes in a formal setting or a place where it is expected. Teaching and learning experiences continue throughout our lives, beginning with the first and most important teachers, our parents. We listen and watch from the time we are born. But as we grow and age, we add to or take away and continue allowing others to teach us. Conversations with others are teachable moments as we share our experiences, ideas and opinions with others. Even brief encounters with strangers can make profound impacts on our lives if they expand our understanding.

Unfortunately, on the flip side, there is also erroneous teaching, bad relationships that lead to wrong conclusions, and we humans can learn stuff that does not enhance our lives. But that is another story . . .