Know-Nothing

I don’t know anything. That makes me well qualified to teach. But shouldn’t I be an expert in the subject I teach? I cringe whenever I am referred to as an expert in something. As soon as I believe I know something, I cut myself off from learning. If I know it, what more is there to learn? Knowing implies I have exhausted the subject; I have reached the limits of learning. To know is to box myself in and off. If I don't know, then I am open to learning. Openness to continuous learning is one of the key qualifications to be a teacher. One of the sources of learning for teachers is students. If I believe I know more than the students, I close myself off from what I might learn from them.

What can students teach me? Plenty! I can learn much each time I receive the student evaluations of my courses. Those evaluations can teach me how I did or did not connect with my students. I can learn the results of my experiments with various teaching methods.

If we want to instill a passion for learning in our students, then we must be role models of lifelong learning. The older I become the more passionate I am about learning. There is no end to what I can learn. I find that an exciting way to live. I want my students to experience that excitement. I don’t want them to know, I want them to learn.