Tuesday, October 17, 2017

Teach and Share What You Know

I noted exasperation as a person in the know dealt with a person not in the know--there was distance with regard to knowledge, and that distance created frustration.

Instead of frustration, I suggest that the person in the know make the time to teach rather than admonish the one who doesn't know. Knowledge, in many ways, is privilege, and one way to extend privilege to others is to extend that knowledge.

How might you do that in your own work?

First make your work explicit. The more you openly share the work and thinking you do, the more that others can learn from that work, and even better, the more that others can contribute their own knowledge and thinking to your work thus improving both your work and study as well as their's.

When and how has this happened in my own life?

It's happened with the college process. For my first child, I studies this process a lot, and then wrote a blog post about it. I share that post with many as a way to share what I learned. Many have shared their tips and knowledge with me as well. This share has happened informally through conversation and anonymously with threads such as College Confidential. This knowledge share has been very helpful with regard to helping my own children find colleges that were good fits for who they are as people and want they desired in a college experience.

This also happens all the time via writing and reading blogs, attending workshops and conferences, joining and getting involved in teaching/learning organizations, and via countless informal conversations and gatherings.

None of us have all knowledge. There's no way that people can know all that we expect them to know. So the goal should be to share what we know in ways that matter to lift the practice of all.