More often that not, people perceive teaching as the teacher does the talking and the students listen. This has been the definition of teaching since ancient times and until this very day, some society still perceive it as so. However, a great lecturer once told me, "Teaching is learning. You learn what the students have to teach you." When I first heard this, I was also confused since I am one of those "orthodox" person and listening to this simply left me baffled. I mean, what could the students possibly teach you that you don't know right?
Fast forward to today when I was teaching, I finally understood what my lecturer meant. Students are constantly learning something new, not just from the teacher but also from their interactions with their surrounding. What teachers teach to them is technical knowledge from books that abides by the social norms but what students teach teachers is the knowledge about how to respond to a human being. Students are all living beings and the teacher's everyday behaviour will be observed by the students and they will react accordingly. For example, if you are constantly happy in class and you always use a soft voice to teach them, they will infer that as you are a friendly person and they can get to know you without any fear. This also applies otherwise. Hence, after years of teaching, a teacher will swiftly advance to becoming a professional psychiatrist.
So, what is teaching? Teaching is learning and what you learn will ultimately shape what you teach and what you can become. Cheers.
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