When I hear the expression, "Those who can do those who can’t teach." I want to reach for an axe. And that axe would be a Gibson Les Paul.
That statement through a gross ignorance implies teaching is a quaint offshoot of babysitting. (Which, they'll say is what teachers are really engaged in.) In that statement i hear, "You want to learn something , Kid? Get out there and take that education by force out in the "real world."
Fact is that that is a cop out. Truly reaching a kid and impressing a lesson on them, making it stick and be inspirational is hard as hell. It requires sales skills, coaching skills, psychological skills anthropological skills.... You must set the kid's frame of mind to sell the message and then inspire them to try something that they have no skill in whatsoever. Introduce that new idea and skill with the perfect mix of art and presentation and you have a shot at moving the student forward.
And like all things related to approaching my 5 year old the approach is one of peace, love, understanding and being consistent.
But perhaps Kenny Rogers was thinking of teaching his 5 year old when he wrote: "You gotta know when to hold 'em. Know when to fold 'em. Know when to walk away. Know when to run...."
