Instructions Unclear: Why We Need Educators

Roughly 20 minutes into the Cinematic masterpiece that is Marvel’s Doctor Strange, there is an exchange between the titular Strange and a master figure called The Ancient One. It goes like this:

Strange: How do I get from here to there?

The Ancient One: How did you get to reattach severed nerves and put a human spine back together bone by bone?

Strange: Study and practice. Years of it.

And that’s about how it goes for all of us. You switched roles at work and are trying to get a grasp on all the new language and processes involved. A manager needs you to create something that is outside your comfort zone. Or maybe you just always wanted to know how to change the carburetor in a 98 Jeep Cherokee.

It’s a scary thing though, right? You want to know more, to be able to do more, but it can seem so far away. It can seem impossible. It can even feel embarrassing.

This is the entire reason we can all recall both great and terrible teachers in our lives. The best teachers make you realize and believe that you can do it, no matter how far away or difficulty. They don’t do it for you, but they build you up and give you a plan. They are like Virgil, guiding you through hell…or something like that! The worst teachers do the opposite — they attack, or confound. They make you feel lesser. The worst instructors always act is if you should already know the thing they are meant to teach you — reflecting their own failings, not yours.

If you are looking to learn something new, the hardest part isn’t finding a classroom to learn it. This is the age of information. You have skillshare, udemy, coursea, Lynda, pluralsight, youtube, and an endless sea of independent would be teachers. The hard part is finding that special person who can make that magical change where the distant, far goal seems reachable.

Can you remember a memorable teacher in your life, formal or otherwise? What made them so important to you? Let me know in the comments!