#615 Mr. Chips

I recently was at an event where a master teacher was recognized for his work in the classroom and was thanked for establishing a scholarship to continue his legacy.  He was described as "an informal educator who never needed a classroom to teach."  What a great tribute.

When Thom Determan came to the podium to comment, he summed up his educational philosophy in two points:

1.  Teachers don't teach what teachers don't know.  As a result, he believed in travel, global experiences and continual learning to expand his capacity to teach.

2.  Follow the 50-50 principle in the classroom:
50% of the time answer the questions
50% of the time question the answers

Determan obviously had an impact on his generations of students, but if you follow his philosophy he can teach you as well.  Whether you are a teacher or a supervisor, both ideas provide lessons for how we structure meetings, coaching sessions or our own professional development.

It's not enough to know the answers; we need to question the answers as well.

-- beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com

@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com