Compassionate Honesty

Every teacher has their teaching methods. Likewise, every student has their learning methods. Since the teacher is teaching multiple students, it is impossible for them to find a teaching method that will work for each and every student. However if the students learn to be flexible and adapt their learning method to suit the teacher's teaching method, everyone progresses. It is no coincidence that one of the most common attributes of a black belt is adaptability.

Feedback, an essential element in teaching, is only effective if it is received openly by the student. If the student gets defensive and attempts to invalidate the feedback, the lesson is lost. Excluding the students who will always be impossible to reach, the way feedback is delivered is the biggest determining factor on how the feedback is received.

Most teachers are never lacking in compassion. We see ourselves in our students and we take responsibility for their progress. We spend a lot of time empathizing with our students and looking for ways to inspire them to open their minds and believe in themselves. Sometimes in all that compassion, the lesson can be lost.

A key component to compassionate teaching is honesty. I am my students' eye for detail. My experience helps me see their strengths, their weaknesses, and most importantly — their potential. My compassionate honesty is essential to open their minds to see what I see.

“If someone is able to show me that what I think or do is not right, I will happily change, for I seek the truth, by which no one was ever truly harmed. It is the person who continues in his self-deception and ignorance who is harmed.” - Marcus Aurelius (121 - 180 A.D.)