Becoming a teacher and a student.....

This week marked the beginning of my 34th year on this planet. As a gift to myself, I decided to take a class given by new friends and fellow teachers at Bali Studios. For a long time, I think at least the last year, I've felt in a constant state of flux, a feeling of transition that I haven't been able to put my finger on exactly. This class was a celebratory act in moving towards that direction, this direction I've been feeling pulled towards but couldn't quite see yet...sort of like trying to orientate one's self to a compass.

One of those steps is teaching and in terms of magnetic poles, and compasses, an aspect of that is also learning...learning in a broad sense, both teaching and learning. Learning about myself, about teaching, and of course, learning from others.

Now, I don't think it's a secret that teachers learn as much from their students as they teach them, right? It's sort of one of the basic philosophies of teaching....This part is the part that has me most curious. This two way avenue of learning....this teaching and being taught.

I haven't taken a class in years....maybe since college. I'm a very visual, hands-on learner....and I'm quite content to teach myself....so I think this class for me was a very important step in this journey to becoming a teacher....to also learn and to UN-learn. To learn from other artists, their own approach, how it differed from my own approach and to do it by another method.

final gathering photo by Deb Taylor

Our class was about creating a personal soul passport, a handmade book. In this case, it was already something I was familiar with, art journal-ing and bookmaking....There was much emphasis on creating a finished mostly blank book in a very safe, welcoming environment in which we were able to create.

I put it in my mind before I even went that I would push myself into this with my whole heart and create something very different than what I was accustomed to....

As I was learning and as I begin to teach new classes, there is this thread I feel between students and teachers....

Students are often reluctant to take a class because they either feel:

A) They WON'T be able to learn what's being taught.

or....

B) They won't be able to learn anything new.

and teachers often similarly feel the same anxieties about teaching....they won't be able to teach anything right and students may not "get" it or their students won't learn it.

So, as I sit here with my heart full of teaching and of learning, I've been asking myself, "what is this common thread?"

For me, it becomes creating this safe, loving, sharing, environment.....This place, where as a teacher, I can enable my students to feel safe and confident learning....but also a sharing environment, where we'll all be able to receive and bring our collective experiences together as a community of learners and makers.

snippets from my soul passport and beauty of a day of learning....

If you are (mostly) a teacher, what has been your greatest learning experience?

If you  are (mostly) a student, what has been the best learning environment?

If you've never done either, what types of experiences would make you feel the most comfortable?