The Hidden Value of Teachers

It’s Not About What They Teach, It’s About What They See

I couldn’t stop thinking about a comment left on my essay, “How To Get More Out Of Your Warm-Ups.” The piece was based on my experience in a handstand class and shows that most people miss out on key benefits by warming up incorrectly. But @Rick offered a different perspective. But

Rick Lewis

’ comment said the article highlighted the need for a teacher.

The internet has made us feel like we don’t need a teacher to learn. That we can find the information ourselves. And that’s true, but that’s not the point of a teacher. A teacher’s main job is to provide feedback and find out what works.

I recently went to a therapist who has helped me rehab injuries. People are always surprised when I tell them that, as I am a sports therapist so people come to me to help fix them. They question me, “Don’t you know how to fix yourself?”

I see the therapist partly because he can do soft tissue work on me that I can’t do myself. But partly because he can give me an objective assessment of myself and where I need to focus.

A large portion of his clients are other therapists.

In a recent session, I told him “It’s a good sign that therapists come to see you”. It’s easy for a bullshitter therapist (or even an average therapist) to trick or misguide the general population, it’s a lot harder to trick another therapist.

He replied, “It is. A therapist needs to be aware of their problems and be humble enough to see another therapist”. He clearly misunderstood me. I was trying to praise him and instead he was praising his clients.

But his onto something.

He added, “It’s an indication of self-awareness and humility to pay for help.”

I first attended a handstand because I couldn’t kick up to the wall due to fear of landing on my head. And the coach helped me with this. But I stayed because I like having a fixed time I have to practice. On my own, I was never consistent.

But I always thought I wasn’t getting information that I couldn't get off the internet. And it would only take me an extra week or two to learn on my own rather than having a teacher. And I could save the money.

I was missing the true value of a teacher—someone who offered feedback and a trained, objective eye to spot flaws I didn’t even know to look for, and would then adjust my training.

I suspect if we all started seeing teachers as other than passers of information or an expense we could avoid, we would probably seek out help more often.

With these lenses, I’m starting to reassess where I am underinvesting in teachers.