Teachers make the world go 'round

The image that comes to mind when you hear “teacher” probably depends a lot on your personal experiences; it might call to mind an especially encouraging teacher, or one that put you down in a way you never forgot. You might think of learning a skill at a parent’s side, or an instructor from a yoga class that taught you to enjoy living in your body, or someone in your life that taught you a lesson outside of any kind of formal setting.

The point is, we’re surrounded by teachers all the time. We can draw lessons from anything and everything that happens to us, including “wow, that was a terrible idea and I should never do that again.”

Some of our teachers are people or situations we choose: pursuing formal education, training for a new job, taking a fitness class, diving deep into a hobby, volunteering in our communities, taking part in a faith community. Others are just things that happen to us (uh, Covid, anyone?). I guess we could put this in the category of “life lessons”- how to let go of grief, how to walk your own path, adulting in general – the things we learn when we’re not necessarily intending to.

When we’re kids, we’re like sponges absorbing the knowledge and experiences around us. As we get older and our lives get more complicated, learning might not be as straightforward. Sometimes we think that once we’ve graduated we’re done learning things. But learning is an essential human function; it keeps us alive (literally) and growing and engaged in the world; research on aging even shows that the brains of people who continue learning and interacting with the world have more in common with people who are decades younger.

Whether it’s formal learning, hobby learning, or life lessons, the decision to think of yourself as a learner means that you’re keeping yourself open to the outside world and being an active part of your own life. That can be an incredibly powerful mental shift during a time when it’s easy to feel that things are happening TO you without your input or interest. We don’t always want to learn the lessons that are waiting for us!

October 6 has been designated as World Teacher Day by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, a specialized agency within the United Nations that promotes peace and collaboration between countries. The organization recognizes that the entire world relies on teachers in order to function. We count on teachers to teach us to read or do math or understand the world around us. Other teachers have shown us how to cook a meal, drive a car, do our jobs, and generally function in the world. Remember the sourdough craze of 2020? YouTube, Zoom, and TikTok made teachers and learners of many of us.

Knowing that learning is a fundamental part of life, how can you honor the teachers who have shaped you?