Always Learning

Teachers and professors know all they need to know.  That's an idea I often hear from students, and more than a few educators.  It is an unfortunate assumption - and incorrect.

One way to disrupt this misunderstanding is for all those folks in education to admit when they don't know something - inevitably, there are moments in my classes when a student asks a question to which I do not have an answer.  There is now a part of me that really enjoys saying, "I don't know."  Though some students may initially react with confusion - you are the teacher of the class and you don't know? - incredible conversations can develop in those moments when students see their instructors as learners, too.

Educators know specific content, yet too many people standing in front of a classroom feel the pressure to 'know it all.'  If we believe that learning is an ongoing process, it should not be difficult to say, "I don't know, but what do you think?" or "I don't know, but how about you look into it and teach us what you discovered next time?"

A group of instructors at my college take part in a bi-monthly conversation related to composition.  Not only is this an opportunity to touch base and exchange ideas, but we also use the meeting as an opportunity to discuss new research in the expansive and innovative field of Rhetoric and Composition.  These dedicated professors are committed to learning from one another and from the texts we examine.

This group, and others like it, develop from the notion that we cannot and should not know it all.  Additionally, these groups recognize the importance of examining new approaches and strategies in various fields.  It is a disservice to students to believe that not only do we know it all, but that what we have always done in the classroom works perfectly.  Like our students, we are always learning.