What Being a Student is Teaching Me

Recently, I’ve become a student again.

To be honest, it was not on purpose! As a working mother of two, my life was already quite full, and I wasn’t looking to add more to my plate.

But an old music school classmate of mine, a singer, was interested in taking recorder lessons, and she offered to barter lesson for lesson. And then I found that my son, who wanted to take tae kwon do, participated noticeably more if I was learning, too.

So I’m studying voice! And tae kwon do! And while it’s true that I’m a slightly better singer than when I started, and a slightly better martial artist than when I started, I think at least half the value, for me, of taking lessons has been a more direct window into the experiences of my students.

Here’s what it’s teaching (or re-teaching) me!

I Don’t Know What I Don’t Know

It’s a phenomenon I’ve observed consistently in my students, but it’s been fascinating to watch it unfolding in myself. As a learner, you are often simply not able to perceive even the outline of things you don’t know.

Here’s an example: One of the first tae kwon do moves I learned was something called high block, where you raise your arm to block a strike coming at your face. After two sessions, I thought I had it down absolutely pat! I was flawless! Brilliant, even!

After four sessions, I got clued in to the fact that the order of my movements was off. After six sessions, it dawned on me that my thumb position mattered. After eight sessions, I realized the angle of my arm needed to change. At this point I have no doubt there are more realizations ahead.

Learning is a process in which you expand not only skills, but also your perception. I compare it to flying in a plane: At first, you might see mountains and rivers and lakes. As you get closer, you begin to perceive that there are also settlements and roads. It’s only once you get even closer that you’re able to make out individual houses and vehicles.

The more you know, the more you realize how much you don’t know. How cool is that?

Cognitive Load Matters

This is something else I already knew, but it’s been valuable to feel it more viscerally.

Basically: Humans have a limited capacity for conscious engagement. If we’re wrestling with something that is taking a lot of conscious thought, we’re not going to be able to complete additional processing unless it is happening more or less automatically, below the level of conscious control.

This means that, for students, you need to consider cognitive load. Take note of what the students are able to do automatically, and try to tax them with only one additional high-load, conscious assignment at a time. And if you’re a learner, don’t try to do it all at once!

I Really Do Know What I’m Talking About

The beauty (curse?) of returning to formalized learning after having taught for a very long time is that I hear my own voice yapping away in my head. And you know what? I give some really great advice!

When I’m worried I’m backsliding, I remind myself that progress is not linear. When I’m frustrated by the pace of my improvement, I recollect that learning is a long road, and that many skills simply require the consistent investment time over time. I know that I need to practice relaxation. I know that I need to practice curiosity. I know that treating my mistakes neutrally, as data, will ultimately lead to my growth.

It’s comforting to reaffirm that most of what I’m telling my students is exactly on point. And to rediscover the joy of learning!