Everyone contributing to Orchid is a teacher in some way or another.
I pray I won’t stop learning til the day I die. Sometimes the most
valuable lessons in life are taught (or learned) inadvertently.
Some are qualified teachers with University degrees, some qualified
by apprenticeship and years of practical trade experience. Some who
teach, shouldn’t. Some who don’t, should.
Children have no choice in who teaches them. Adults and young adults
have limited choice (i. e. what is available and what they can
afford)… but they do have the choice to work out what and how to
learn from those trying to teach them.
It is a circular argument. and there is no winner, only opinion and
experience J
Jane Walker, who’s experienced a little bit of every kind of lesson
and teaching experience
Everyone contributing to Orchid is a teacher in some way or
another. I pray I won't stop learning til the day I die. Sometimes
the most valuable lessons in life are taught (or learned)
inadvertently.
Well said, Jane.
I am not a teacher, I’m one of those that just learned a little here
and a little there, making a living as I went and passing along what
I could, when I could. I’ve had several apprentices though, maybe a
dozen and what I’ve learned from them could fill a book. The most
important thing I’ve learned though, is that one of the most
effective ways of learning is by teaching.
A lot, if not most teachers are also students, the best ones are
anyway.
Rene’ Lalique is often cited as being one of the greatest designers
in recent memory. Most of us know who he is and what he did. If you
don’t, please do some surfing and find out. It will be time well
spent. Notice especially how much time he spent studying. I dare say
he spent more time in the classroom and studying throughout his life
than he spent designing or creating. His discipline in the classroom
shows in his prolific work, too.
I think that’s one of the things I love the most about my chosen
career, something I learned from Lalique. There is no way I, or
anyone for that matter, can ever learn all there is to know about
jewelry. It would take many lifetimes to really get a handle on just
about any one of many small facets of the jewelry business. I love to
learn, and I’m beginning to love teaching as my eyes start to falter.
I’m finding that the two aren’t really all that different. Not if
there’s more than one open mind involved, that is.
Thanks to all who are passing on the lessons you’ve learned. Thanks
also to all those that are paying attention to what the teachers are
saying and doing. Both groups together hold the future in their
hands. And don’t anyone ever be afraid to switch roles. You just
might learn something.