# Chapter 88

Practicing trumps teaching. Don’t get me wrong I am a big fan of teaching and have done it at the college level off and on over the last 25 years. Teaching can bring much to the table especially if it is really focused on the learning taking place in the classroom and not just a rote recitation of some obscure facts or information that is not really learning at all. That is what almost all tests measure, some rote recitation of facts or information. What tests like we have in schools should reflect is learning, processing, working through the problems, and I am not just talking about in math. But instead, they puke back the information and stats, that they have been fed.

But actions and watching people model what they have learned, are generally far better teaching instruments in life. My grandson wants to wear my boots, both metaphorically and physically. He is regularly stepping into my shoes, every chance he gets. It is the perfect reflection of what he really wants - to be like me. So I let him “help” me whenever possible. He learns far more at that moment, than he does in the classroom each day. And one should take focused care on what you model and what you practice, because your little ones are watching. Now we need more who are paying attention to what they are modeling for the rest of their clan and the world, to see who is practicing that which is worth learning and repeating.