A Rant About Today’s Experts

I just returned from a meeting with the principal of my
daughter’s high school. Great guy. Just love him because
he is student-centered, not teacher-centered. At one point,
we got to talking about the poor teaching that occurs across
the board in our district (despite its being one of the most
affluent in the state) and he asked me for any insights I had.

He didn’t know that I teach adults how to use brain-based
learning in their presentations and seminars, so he was
surprised, to say the least, when I rattled off many things
these teachers are not doing that they should. Things that
are brain-antagonistic. These are trained teachers who do
not know how to maximize learning. These are professionals
who are paid, yet do not know how to maximize learning.

And I have a problem with that. I have an extreme problem
with state-trained teachers of our children not knowing how
to teach. But I have just as big a beef about ANY professional
getting paid to ”transfer knowledge” without knowing how
to teach
. How to get clients/students to learn. At least
trained teachers go through a system that supposedly prepares
them to educate our kids. They at least get some guidance
on effective teaching practices. But what business professional
does? Virtually none.

Meanwhile, they proclaim they can teach you how to write
a book in thirty days; how to save on your taxes; how to get
media publicity; how to optimize your website; how to make
love with your husband; how to talk to your teen; how to
meditate; how to lose weight; how to write a proposal; how to
use XYZ software; how to market your business, etc. etc.

My ire really gets up here and I say, how dare you! You have
never learned how to teach, how can you POSSIBLY think
you can?? Do you know how intuitive teaching is? How much
of an art it is? How you must score extremely high on empathy
tests to teach well? It does not come naturally to most of the
population. Just because you know how to do something does
NOT MEAN YOU CAN TEACH IT. And shame on you for
taking money from vulnerable, unsuspecting customers when
you have not learned (and then practiced!) how to maximize
learning
.

For this very reason, it is appalling that that the information
industry is a trillion-dollar industry. There is no excuse for
trained teachers, who get paid, not to know how to tap the
brains of our students. Equally so, if you are getting paid to
teach anything–via the internet (especially), or in books or
information products (especially!), or in live seminars—
then learn how to teach first!

And student beware! If you are about to learn from a million-
aire, STOP! Ask them what they know about learning. I
took a course from a billionaire that was so bad, I could
barely contain myself. She made a lot of money off of that
training—but it was a deplorable effort and she did not
deliver results. But she led everyone to believe that she could
teach them “how,” just because she had been successful.

After witnessing too many of these accounts, as well as the
insane proliferation of on-line study programs, I am going
back to the basics and again centering all of my programs
around teaching best-teaching skills–which translate to
best leadership skills. If you’re leading, you MUST know how
to effectively convey your message. If you are on this planet
to make real change for the planet, you must transfer your
knowledge effectively. And it just won’t happen if you don’t
know how to teach! Specifically, to the brain.

So, if that describes you—a conveyor of information, a leader of
change, then stay close. You don’t want to miss out on the
direction I’m going and the brand new programs I’m offering.

� 2011-14 Inspired Leaders Academy. All Rights Reserved.