I love how a coach in Whitmore’s description is an awareness builder, rather than a holder of the knowledge. I’ve really been enjoying the book, thanks!

There’s coaching and then there’s coaching. Choose wisely.

When I was learning surgery, we had the maxim of “Watch one, Done, Teach one” driven into us. The focus was not on the actual number here, but rather the idea that you can only learn so much by watching and even again only so much by doing. *Teaching* is where the true learning occurs, which is why we find parenting such an amazing journey - all of the things we have just ‘done’ in our lives are suddenly laid bare, naked and shivering as we dissect out the focus points, the meaning, the idea of the journey.

As Beverley writes above, when we ‘teach one’, it’s often found that it’s not the activity but the engagement that is what we were seeking.

Plus I see my 2.5yr DD ‘teaching’ all the time - me, her doll, other children. This is her own way of crystallising experience and priorities from experience.

Cheers, Cass

We do something because we want to or have to, and we usually end up learning or honing skills or knowledge related to the task. When we don’t complete the task - eg making the helicopter, it is easy to be conned into thinking we’re failing or lazy or whatever else people want to call it. But what has actually happened is that somewhere, deep in our brains and souls, we reached a point of satisfaction - the drive to learn is satiated and thus we no longer feel motivated - say to build a helicopter. In a young child’s mind the task of sawing is so immense the helicopter is quickly forgotten, as it should be, but in an older child’s mind, it might be remembered and held onto as frustration rather than focusing on the joy of learning all about sawing, or the qualities of wood, or feeling confident with tools, or whatever. In an adult’s mind we get lost in judging ourselves, the habit of not noticing what we are truly learning completely lost in the dim mists of time…

My children have taught me that no matter what we are doing we are learning something really important to each of us. Sometimes it takes a while to realise what the lesson actually was. Sometimes it doesn’t seem related to the task. I find that the Jung/Campbell world of symbols and myths often help me uncover the real purpose of most of my learning. The more I look and try to notice the easier it is to see the many levels on which I am learning in each moment of life.

It’s very cool and very exciting. The best game ever!

cheers
Beverley
http://homeschoolaustralia.com
http://alwayslearningbooks.com.au