Teach a Man How to Teach Himself How to Fish
The Saying Goes
“Give a man a fish; you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish; and you have fed him for a lifetime”—Author unknown
Here is how I view this statement.
The Problems:
- Let us be careful to confuse SHOW them how to fish with teach
- 1. You must teach them how to fish correctly. Showing them how to fish is not enough.
- 2. They must be in similar situations for their lifetime for what you have show them to work.
If both of these (#1,#2) are sufficient then you very well might have "fed him for a lifetime"
IMPROVED
... to clarify and expand let us try this approach
"Teach a man to teach himself how to fish and you have fed him for a lifetime, no matter what.
in addition: you might very well have fed all those he comes into contact, because someone who understands the foundations of a subject is much more capable of being a teacher as they at one point taught... themselves" - Scott Jarvie
Example
A man gives a workshop on fishing to another man.
He takes him to the river to show them what he does to be successful (lest someone mistakingly believe a successful fisher = a successful teacher(automatically) )
Put this hook on the line, put this bait on it, stand on this bank of the river, throw it this far out, come here at this time of the day on this day of the week. And just like me you will catch a fish... because if I do this exact set of things there is no reason why you doing those exact things wouldn't produce the same successful results.
For anyone that fishes we know that this would never work... why? Because things change.
So you the fishing Student can ask why he isn't having the same results and the teacher can show them how to adapt. But to continue with this process on and on is only moderately better than giving them the fish.
Teach them correct principles and let them act (or govern themselves as one wise man once said)
Teach them the concepts of why a fish is interested, why they act, teach them action reaction, teach them how all their tools impact the situations and they'll see how they vary...
THE KEYS
Objectives, Tools, Cause and effect and where to find more knowledge to continue their education.
(Also I say a working vocabulary of the field so they can communicate with others and later to teach others... communication requires language and language is vocabulary)
Soon the fisherman will no longer be coming to you to find the answers to the changes and the problems he comes up against... he will be able to figure them out himself.
And how will he figure it out.
Creative Solutions - Creativity is the ability to improve... to create... to make.
WARNING
One other caveat is that their foundations be sound, meaning their principles correct and knowledge in line with those principles. The core concepts given should be correct or they will not come up with valid results.
They might still starve if one of those principles is flawed.
GUIDANCE
While I believe a person can spend minimal time being taught to fish in a way as to be able to teach himself... I still believe it of great value that person hold firm to guidance. A source of knowledge.
APPLICATION
This is how I teach my photography classes and how i try to guide my students and/or interns.
This is the approach from the Gospel in this case there are other aspects to consider, like what our guidance is and how important a part it is... that there is all sorts of mis-information, incorrect principles. But still we aim to be able to know what is good from bad... by ourselves without having to have read it on a list, and to hold firm to the guidance for assuredness because of the ever changing situations we find ourselves in, in a very complex world.
This is might help us in the area of Education. What does it mean for our methods of learnings we use all around us? For our schools.
To our teachers. Do you give them the fish? Do you show them how to fish? Or do you teach them how to teach themselves?
A couple more things to consider
Don't get me wrong showing is a part of teaching... I just worry people think showing = teaching.
Teaching yearns for an instilling of correct principles. Anything less and it takes even more teaching to correct that issue.
the more a faulty foundation is built upon the more dangerous and inconsistent the results... and the more work to fix (does it take deconstruction -> reconstruction?)
We can agree on this -> "Teaching, No Greater Call"
