There is a saying that "People who can't do, teach". Haha. Where in the world did that ever come from?
It is attributed to George Bernard Shaw in 1903, who wrote "He who can, does. He who cannot, teaches" in the play Man and Superman. In context, it was a sarcastic remark about society from a fictional Jack Tanner, and not Shaw's personal belief (he was a teacher also.)
It turns out that the quote has been misinterpreted for decades and often used without context as a insult to teachers. It implies that it's better to be doer, when in fact teaching requires an even deeper mastery than doing.
I would vote to restructure the quote to simply say "Some people can't teach!". I think anyone can "do" something and attain a certain level of expertise, but not everyone can "teach" someone else how to do it. This implies that doing and teaching are really just different skill sets. The doing skillset is wide and varied, but the core teaching skill set breaks down fairly simply to me.
Of course, the obvious requirements are:
- to be knowledgeable in the first place and
- have patience and be encouraging (which some of my teachers didn't necessarily have or do!).
- the willingness to share something you have a passion for, and
- to enjoy watching that passion transfer into another human being.
If you have that trait, skill, mindset - whatever you want to call it - you will be called to be a teacher (and may very well also be great at it).
One of the coolest things about being a guitar teacher is that I can watch a person who came in holding the guitar upside-down and backwards turn into an amazing guitar player in a few years time. It doesn't matter the age, gender, race or upbringing. I've watched 12 year-olds end up amazing players by high school. Guys in their 30's and 40's who never got past the basics enlightened by the ease of learning the fretboard. Kids as young as 5 to 55, working through the physical mechanics required to play "Ode to Joy". They are all like a big vase of sunflower buds... all will flower in their own way, and some will just be magnificent.
Some might argue that teaching guitar is "vocational" and not strictly "educational" and I agree to a point, but who cares? There is something much larger that happens in an environment where information is being shared, processed, understood and built upon. Sometimes it's just fucking magical. The reward is the connection. The 10-4, good buddy. The "aha" moment.
If you are one of those people who think you can't teach, take heart. It's not "God-given" or "God-taketh-away". You can develop a willingness to share your passion if you try. Once you experience the magic of watching it transfer into someone else, you'll be hooked. You likely will also find that you can't do it without patience and encouragement, so you'll work on those aspects too. Not all the buds will flower right away, but some will just blow you away.
Peace.
