Be the Guide on the Side . . .

Half-Dome Yosemite National Park

Let’s fess up. Being on stage and expounding your pearls of wisdom is one of the many reasons many pursue the profession of teaching. However, please turn this thought over and over in your mind. “Be the guide on the side, not the sage on the stage.” Let it slow cook like a chicken on a rotisserie.

This tip from Sharon Bowman, M.A. may be a little hard to swallow. You might be saying, “Wait a minute, that’s the very reason I come to work every day. It’s my ego boost. It’s my calling.” For one moment, let’s challenge that philosophy.

Successful educators serve as the manager, trainer, leader, coach, the applause comes from within. You're the vehicle to help students expand their knowledge and skill. This can — and will — have a dramatic impact in their lives, if they remember and apply it. Your job is to direct their journey, maintain focus, make it a positive and successful experience. Instill the desire to want to learn more. When you’ve done that then you can genuinely claim the applause.

So today's tip from Sharon Bowman is:

Be the guide who creates the effective learning environment. Then step back to let the learners take over.

Write this profound statement on a piece of brightly-colored paper. Place this where you can see it every day and let it simmer on the rotisserie of your minds consciousness.

Paraphrased from; Presenting With Pizzazz: Terrific Tips for Topnotch Trainers, by Sharon L. Bowman, M.A. - Bowperson Publishing, Forth Printing June 2002.

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