The Teacher Appears

Evaluating diamond rough in South Africa

“When the student is ready, the teacher appears.” I was reminded of this quote recently while teaching a diamond grading class in Seattle.

The teacher is the student in you. As educators, we tend to forget what it’s like to be a beginner. You tend to take for granted things you do by habit. You explain things based on your level of knowledge and understanding, rather than on the student’s level of mental preparedness. People selectively hear what they’re ready to hear when their experience, confidence, and skill balance. I call this selective absorption.

Learning a new skill can be a struggle. Facts, figures, and formulas, set up mental roadblocks for students who think they must memorize these things to understand the concepts. It’s not always true that memorization leads to understanding.

Students learn best when the instructor challenges them to teach themselves.

That requires drawing out what they know in relation to what they should understand rather than packing more information into their heads.

By practicing the art of being a student, you can rest assured the teacher will appear.

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