This idea was inspired by something Tom with Leaving Work Behind wrote in an article about success months ago. He wrote:
Principles are timeless – techniques are not. Would you rather I give you a fish, or teach you to catch your own?
Here’s a week in the lives of Tom and me… “fishing”…
Monday
Bon: Hey, whatcha doing?
Tom: I’m fishing.
Why?
Because I’m hungry. You can eat fish.
Bon: I’m hungry too. Will you share your fish?
Tom: Sure!
Tuesday
Bon: I wonder where Tom is. I’m hungry.
Wednesday
Bon: Hey Tom!
Tom: Hi Bon!
Bon: I’m hungry. I haven’t eaten in two days. You weren’t here yesterday.
Tom: Well, I’m fishing now. Watch how I do it and if you ever need to, you can do it yourself.
Bon: Swell!
Thursday
Bon: I wonder where Tom is. I’m hungry. Good thing I watched him yesterday. Now I can catch my own fish.
<pause>
Bon: What’s going on. I’m not catching any fish. And I’m doing it exactly as Tom did! I’m so hungry!
Friday
Bon: What’s up, Tom!
Tom: Hey Bon. How are you?
Bon: I’m SO hungry. I tried to fish yesterday but I couldn’t catch anything. And I was doing it exactly like you did.
Tom: That’s strange. How about this. I’ll let you do the fishing today. Together we’ll see what you’re doing and adjust it so it works for you.
Bon: That sounds great!
Saturday
Bon: Bummer. Tom’s not here. But I was successful catching fish yesterday so I’ll have no problem catching fish now!
Sunday
Bon: Hey Tom!
Tom: How’s it going Bon?
Bon: Excellent! Hey – wanna join me for lunch? I’ve caught enough fish for both of us!
Do you really want to teach someone to fish?
There’s a difference between teaching someone to fish and helping them learn to fish. In the case of Tom’s teaching medium – his website – he can only teach. Likewise, here at MathFour.com, my writings can merely teach.
But when you’re face to face with a student, teaching isn’t nearly as valuable as helping them discover.
Indeed, if you’re going to teach a child who really needs help learning, you might as well just give them the fish.
Do you teach your kids to fish – or help them learn?
Share your thoughts in the comments.
Images by Tony the Misfit on Flickr, CC BY.