Good teachers understand what it’s like to be a student. That’s what a middle school principal told me years ago, when I described the humbling experience of taking a hot glass course.

She said, “When we become ‘expert’ we forget our experiences as learners. It’s good for teachers to take classes outside their fields, so they can re-experience what school feels like from the perspective of a beginner.”

But what about the rest of us? Does studying something new, such as glass blowing, benefit us even if our final products would bring Dale Chihuly to tears? I believe it does.

When we age, our worlds shrink. I saw that in the lives of my mother and father-in-law. When they were young, the entire world was their territory. When they became elderly their worlds shrank to the size of their neighborhoods and finally their homes. Trying something new can expand our worlds even if our geography doesn’t change.

There’s another benefit that nobody talks about: when we are beginners in any field, we come to appreciate those who are experts. When we watch experts work, they make it look easy. But we understand how long it took them to reach that point.

Now I look at a piece of handcrafted glass and understand that it took many years for the artist to study and practice before acquiring the skill to create it, and that the price tag probably represents a wage of $2.50 an hour, given the time invested in learning the craft.

I refer to a quote attributed to Michelangelo whenever I feel like I’m not progressing quickly enough in my fiction writing class: “If you knew the time it took me to gain my mastery, it wouldn’t seem so wonderful.”

My appreciation for the artistry of teachers also has grown after years of watching them respond to a roomful of kids, all of whom wanted help and attention at the same time, while still maintaining order and making every child feel important. They made it look so easy.

I knew differently, because I worked as a volunteer with kids who struggled academically, socially and emotionally, and knew how hard it was to find the key to helping just one child at a time.

 

Ann Oxrieder has lived in Bellevue for 35 years. She retired after 25 years as an administrator in the Bellevue School District and now blogs about retirement at http://stillalife.wordpress.com/.