I first started bringing home a real paycheck in the summer of 1980. I was only fifteen, but the school district of Douglas County still hired me to join the crew of guys who travelled to the various campuses maintaining the grounds while everyone was on summer vacation. It wasn’t my idea of glamourous, (in fact to this day I detest yard work) but it was a paycheck, albeit a minuscule one. If I recall correctly, I brought home about 80.00 a week. My mother and I were on welfare so I almost always handed my entire fortune over to the household. I did keep a little here and there, but not much.

The men I worked with on the crew were a mixed lot of experience, attitudes, and personalities. They tossed me around with little to no training and for the most part my duties consisted of either running a mower, hoeing weeds, (I wasn’t allowed to run a weed-eater) and pushing around a fertilizer rig. The people I worked with thought that since I was a temporary worker, it wasn’t worth teaching me any advanced skills. This was my first taste of a broken and often conceit or fear driven work atmosphere. I had no idea at the time, but many more examples of this dynamic would crop up as I moved forward in life.

To project somewhat, I’ve found that a great many workplaces are participating in the same game. The game I’m referring to is this – “Teach only enough to the people who you supervise so they won’t eventually be a threat to your position.” This is complete garbage, and it showcases a flaw in our current education system.

Schools (at least K – 12) pump out hoards of learners. Some are highly adept at absorbing the curriculum, and others, like myself, were only motivated by whether or not they liked the teacher or actually enjoyed the subject. In any case, and in my opinion, there remains a critical gap in how they prepare people for life in general.

The way of the world is this –

Teachers lead and learners follow.

Those who learn HOW to teach are future leaders. The rest are usually destined to be, essentially, drones.

All of us have witnessed this activity at some point in our careers. Those who are weak leaders will abstain from teaching too much because they fear those they train may eventually rise to positions that threaten their current title. They simply don’t get this truth – our duty is to ALWAYS find someone to replace us so we can then move up the food chain ourselves. And even so, if you’re ambition is to remain in the position you’re currently assigned to but enjoy sharing and educating nonetheless, I guarantee you, those above you will recognize that you are skilled and enthusiastic about teaching.

Obviously it’s been a few decades since I was in public school, and honestly I hope I’m wrong about this, but there needs to be a separate and focused topic that teaches students how to teach, and not only that, motivate them to do so. If I were to be idealistic about this, my thought would be to have students spend time tutoring select pupils in the lower grades on subjects they themselves are adapt at. For example, if John got high marks in math, then he would be required to spend time with someone from a grade below him as to how he had reasoned his way through the subject, and why he achieved success. John then receives a grade for his achievement. This same student, John, who has been assigned to write a report on the causes and outcomes of the Revolutionary War, then turns around and seeks out someone who has had a highly marked similar project from a grade above him and then becomes a student to their expertise. Again, this action garners yet another grade. Schools need to teach students how to teach, and as a result sharing skill sets with others will become comfortable and useful later in life.

Those who read my blog know I’m in recovery, and the program I’m partial to for maintaining my sobriety is indeed based on this principle. I let those who seek a better life come to me for guidance, and I always accommodate within my means, while on the other hand I continuously look for people who may have something to offer me so I can improve my own life and eventually pass on newly acquired information and experiences to new ‘students’.

The real, and highly unrealized strength of the human chain lies in wanting to own the willingness and ability to learn on one hand, while teaching on the other. Some do, many don’t, and even more have never even recognized the pattern.

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With Love and Compassion,

Daniel Andrew Lockwood