Finding My Element: A Journey Through Teaching and Learning

Joseph Joubert, a French moralist and essayist, said, “To teach is to learn twice.” I recall the first time I truly comprehended the meaning of the phrase. I was tutoring grade 11 chemistry.

As a background, I had achieved straight A’s in high school and even in university chemistry. I had mastered chemistry, or so I had believed. It was not until I began tutoring chemistry to high school students that I realized I had never truly understood it. I was able to find the solution to most chemistry reactions (excuse the pun), but I realized in those hours of tutoring that I never actually understood why those reactions were occurring.

Reviewing those fundamental terms and models enabled me to connect my university-level knowledge and lived experiences with the basic knowledge I had taken for granted all those years ago. It was as if the chemistry world had unveiled itself to me for the first time, and I was reacting in pure awe (last pun I promise!).

As educators, we must remain humble.  This means acknowledging our own limitations and being open to learning alongside our students.

When we approach teaching with a sound sense of humility, we grant ourselves the grace to make mistakes, learn from our students, and remain open to new ideas and perspectives. In doing so, we are effectively modelling to our students a healthy approach to lifelong learning.

I have heard several times from fellow teaching candidates, “What will I do if a student asks me a question and I do not know the answer?” How we respond to this situation helps model to young people the importance of humility and navigating the experience in a healthy manner. Inviting students into the mystery of the unknown is not only educational, it demonstrates that we are all human. Teachers are human; we are not computers with all the information, but we are designed with curiosity and made for community. 

When confronted with challenging questions for which you lack an answer, invite students into that moment of humility, humanity and community. Learn together and discover the answer collaboratively. In the process, you will likely gain new ideas, perspectives and opinions. Learning should not be confined to a mark on a report card; it should inspire and equip us for our future.

AliciaL@OTU