Organic Teaching

Learning is a natural phenomena of living. All living things come into the world with a set of tools to collect information from the world around them and interact with the world around them. Whether it’s sunflowers turning to face the sun, squirrels navigating tree limbs, or humans discovering the depths of the oceans, biological systems, like tropisms and nerves, are designed to maintain a dynamic communication between the organism and the environment to enable survival. I would venture to call living “organic learning”.

If learning is innate, then what function does teaching serve? After more than ten years in the classroom, and more than ten years as an aquatics, safety, and adventure educator, I was left trying to figure out what exactly my job was if learning happens even when I am not “teaching”. As a parent I witnessed first hand (as we all do) that learning happens even when our teaching is not intentional (ahem – curse words). So what does “teaching” do for learners?

Traditional classrooms and teaching methods hold that teaching is the only plausible link between the learner and the legitimate content they are “supposed” to connect with. There’s actually hundreds of years of scientific research (Piaget – child development, Montessori – child development and education, Dewey – education philosopher) indicating that the most authentic (and retained) information is discovered by, not handed to, learners. In fact for most of us our life experience indicates the same – our “most important lessons” did not happen in a classroom (and if they did, they are not related to the “book learning” that’s supposed to be happening there). It would seem that life is best teacher, offering the content and lessons we need when we are ready to see and use them.

As a trainer, my job is really assessment, particularly when I my training culminates in a certification! I am the “eyes” and “hands” that confirms that the student can use the content being offered effectively. Much of professional education has moved in this direction as it is a place where our role & task is clear (and grants us power over others). One of the eventual outcomes of this has been the drive for testing – which all educators (and most parents) agree is NOT teaching (much less generally helpful). As we pursue the tenant that teaching really means judging and qualifying others, we’ve certainly moved very far from the learning process and lost focus on content and learners.

In my experience (both personal and professional) the best teachers facilitated the natural learning process. How? Like gurus across time and cultures, they often show you where to look, but not what to look for. Or they spotted the backbends and challenge course towers. Or they lifeguarded while tentative exploration splashed. Or they answered questions when curiosity turned into frustration. Or they applied band-aids & encouraged renewed bravery. Most importantly, they learned (not taught) with me. That’s Organic Teaching.