Teaching versus training
Teaching versus training
I've never quite pondered about the difference (of course I know there's a difference) between teaching and training until I came across a Bible Journal which I was marking (it was the girls' badgework - 4 months of Bible Reading which I had to "tediously" mark, and close to 35 sets!! the worst is some words were really hard to read and figure out, especially those hand-written ones =( little wonder why most of the time teachers enjoy teaching but not the marking ... =)
One of my student read Prov 22:6 "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it", and in her journal she wrote (and I extract) ...
"... we are told in this verse to "train" up our children in the Lord. Many parents grieved in their hearts over their grown-up children who have gone astray from their Christian heritage and teachings. They have wondered why their children did not walk in what they were taught. Teaching is sharing information, while training integrates that teaching into a lifestyle. Training is a lot more tedious and takes a committed effort on the part of parents. Training involves enforcing and reinforcing what is being taught ..."
When I read these reflection of hers, I was like "WOW!" - indeed what most of us adults often do is to teach, but very little time and efforts have been spent in really walking the talk, training the younger generation into people after God's own heart. We read Bible stories to children ... we teach in Sunday Schools ... we educate through the pulpit ... we conduct training sessions/courses, etc - but what is actually lacking is not teaching, but a good mentor/parent/pastor/teacher/leader to train someone up in the ways of the Lord.
Teaching is easy as it generally informs the mind, and it settles the academic/intellectual aspects, whereas training involves applying and transforming what has been learnt into action. Maybe in some sense, I can say, teaching is passive, whereas training is active??
Teaching is really not enough - it's training, disciplined training that will yield results. And to begin with, those who are given the responsibility to teach ought to learn to (1) walk their talk, (2) invest time in the young lives entrusted to them, (3) be committed to the task.
My student's reflection brought not only "enlightenment" but also an "inspiration" to what I can blog for today =) So you see, our students are not only learning from us - we are also benefitting from them as we learn from them too. Don't always see ourselves as their teachers - God can also use them to teach us, and we become their "students" too!
I've never quite pondered about the difference (of course I know there's a difference) between teaching and training until I came across a Bible Journal which I was marking (it was the girls' badgework - 4 months of Bible Reading which I had to "tediously" mark, and close to 35 sets!! the worst is some words were really hard to read and figure out, especially those hand-written ones =( little wonder why most of the time teachers enjoy teaching but not the marking ... =)
One of my student read Prov 22:6 "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it", and in her journal she wrote (and I extract) ...
"... we are told in this verse to "train" up our children in the Lord. Many parents grieved in their hearts over their grown-up children who have gone astray from their Christian heritage and teachings. They have wondered why their children did not walk in what they were taught. Teaching is sharing information, while training integrates that teaching into a lifestyle. Training is a lot more tedious and takes a committed effort on the part of parents. Training involves enforcing and reinforcing what is being taught ..."
When I read these reflection of hers, I was like "WOW!" - indeed what most of us adults often do is to teach, but very little time and efforts have been spent in really walking the talk, training the younger generation into people after God's own heart. We read Bible stories to children ... we teach in Sunday Schools ... we educate through the pulpit ... we conduct training sessions/courses, etc - but what is actually lacking is not teaching, but a good mentor/parent/pastor/teacher/leader to train someone up in the ways of the Lord.
Teaching is easy as it generally informs the mind, and it settles the academic/intellectual aspects, whereas training involves applying and transforming what has been learnt into action. Maybe in some sense, I can say, teaching is passive, whereas training is active??
Teaching is really not enough - it's training, disciplined training that will yield results. And to begin with, those who are given the responsibility to teach ought to learn to (1) walk their talk, (2) invest time in the young lives entrusted to them, (3) be committed to the task.
My student's reflection brought not only "enlightenment" but also an "inspiration" to what I can blog for today =) So you see, our students are not only learning from us - we are also benefitting from them as we learn from them too. Don't always see ourselves as their teachers - God can also use them to teach us, and we become their "students" too!
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