on what I have learned from those whom I claim to teach

There is this crazy mixed-up double standard in education, be it informal education, formal education, in life.  You see, there are people out there who presume to be "teachers" and others out on a journey to learn and I think our biggest challenge in this world is that we forget that it is incumbent upon us all to do our very best every day not only to learn something new, but to teach something to as many people as we can.

This is one of my greatest life struggles.

I live in a world that begs the question "What do you want to be when you grow up?"  It is often asked less directly, but that is the message at the core.  There is a common misconception that Informal Educators, Youth Directors, Youth Educators, Youth Professionals, whatever you want to call us--fall into this work and use it as a stepping stone to get somewhere else.  Many follow a path to the Rabbinate, others to Social Work, Program positions or Formal Education...and maybe, we all do--it just takes us longer to figure out what path to follow (hello 15 years in the field) and maybe, we don't...

Maybe this is the path I am destined to follow--and the key to success is to change my frame of reference, to stop looking at what I want to teach and to start looking more at what I have learned.

If you have read my writings in the past, it seems rote to say it again--I feel cliche even typing it here in this space, but I have always said, I will continue to do this work as long as I feel like I can continue to learn...

So, what am I learning?

It has been a topsy-turvy, downright crazy, unbelievably busy 12 weeks.  Like, busier than usually busy in this world I truly love.  Maybe I am getting old, and I can't adapt to it as well as I used to, or maybe--just maybe I sit here on the other side of the most chaotic weeks I can remember as a Youth Professional (insert Educator or other word we find trendy or appropriate this week) and I have failed myself.  I have failed to stop and take stake of where I am, what I have learned and where I want to go next--and I mean that in the most abstract sense of the statement.

I have been a part of a process for the first time this year, looking at creating a team that will best suit our structure and help create a successful outcome for our program.  As I sit here I reflect on the power of my actions and the opportunity I have to help someone else find the passion I find in this work, to help another individual learn from teenagers, from ten year olds, to create the rare life-long connection with someone that seems so innocuous at the time...and 10 years later you find indescribable joy in their successes...

Sitting outside a bowling alley today waiting for a late parent, I shot a text to one of the few people that consistently ground me... "Just wanted to let you know I am thinking about you as you guys head out on the road and overseas!" Simple enough.  Not seeking, not hoping for soul searching...just a quick thinkin' about you .  An hour of back and forth later (with lag time here and there) and I look at the end of the conversation--he texts, "who knows" I reply "your gut will...when it is time to decide"

I believe that--I really do.  I believe it when I talk to friends from high school about job interviews and where their career will take them next.  I believe it when I talk to teens about running for positions of leadership.  I believe it when trusted confidants tell me to look at the bigger picture and consider the whole situation--to give a really great person an opportunity to shine where they first might seek the shadows...

Why is it then that I so rarely allow myself the freedom to trust my own gut?

I am a truly valuable part of a team, with a LOT to teach and even more still to learn, so today I ask myself the same question I challenged a team of people to examine just a few weeks ago--

"What have you learned and taught?  How do you plan to carry these lessons into the future?"

In its simplest form-- I have learned that as the teacher, the greatest lessons are taught from the students.  I will continue to seek relationships based on trust and accountability where both parties approach the learning opportunities with open eyes and open hearts to seek first to understand in an environment where being right is less important than being together.  I will continue to foster relationships built upon these ideals and not let obstacles that arise become barriers in which I fail to realign the course.

There will be challenges, there will be struggles, there will be failures that turn into successes--and some will not, but I know what I want to be when I grow up.  I am what I want to be when I grow up, and if I keep doing it the way I do it--and believe in the way I continue to teach and learn--maybe in my tenure what I am will become an acceptable answer for a grown up...

Thanks for reminding me...