We can teach but not force learning

I was getting trained at a new job in college, and my new supervisor was going through a few procedures that I needed to know.

I was paying attention… then I zoned out.

And then he finished the training.

“Any questions?”

Purely to protect my pride, I said “Nope, that all sounds great!”

But I had no clue what to do for most of the tasks.

I’ve found this dichotomy interesting to reflect on:

My supervisor did exactly what he was supposed to do.

He taught me everything. He was very kind.

But I had completely disengaged as a learner, and it was reflected in how much help I needed the first few days of the job.

Had he failed his training because I struggled?

I don’t think so.

A lot of emotions run through my mind when I read this statement in the Family: A Proclamation to the World:

“Husbands and wives—mothers and fathers—will be held accountable before God for the discharge of these obligations.”

But one thing I’ve been focused on is:

The effectiveness of my teaching is not always reflected in how well the students learn.

Both the teacher and the learner need to be willing in order for true understanding to occur.

This doesn’t excuse poor or half-hearted teaching, but it takes our complete dependence on results in order to evaluate the effectiveness of teaching.

We, as parents, are asked to teach our children how to love, to serve, to work hard, and to keep the commandments.

Not to make them be loving, service-filled, hard-working, commandment-keepers.

We have a solemn responsibility to teach as well as we possibly can, pleading with the Lord to know exactly what our children might need from us.

Nothing more and nothing less.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black