Today we will talk about the biggest difficulty, the only, real challenge a teacher faces. A hidden reality I know well because I first faced it for myself and basically this is how the idea of teaching came into my mind.
The title may sound weird, but in this article we are going to talk about one of the deepest realities in the learning process.
When we think of learning anything new, in our case the Greek language, we dream of ourselves speaking it. We create a picture in our mind of grammar and vocabulary, rules to follow, listening conversations or music, or maybe reading books and gaining knowledge od another world that is relatively far away from our own country.
Some people think of it as something easy, while others are aware of the effort they need to make.
Thinking of the things we need to study is a normal thing to have in our mind. This is a huge part of a learner’s routine and something that, when practiced regularly, it can take us very far in the language.
But, as we said, today we are not going to talk about these regular things. Today we are going to talk about the dark side of the learning process, the dark side of the moon, and one of the biggest challenges a teacher faces, something almost no one talks about.
It is very difficult to help someone overcome this part, either when the student is an adult or a child. To me, it makes no difference.
I have worked more than a decade before going online, I have met and shared time with people from completely different ages and backrounds, I have enjoyed such big range of diversity, that I feel the luckiest person on Earth.
My first students were women who came to Greece from Afganistan, I have taught all the ages, from 7 to maybe 87, kids who lived in all the conditions you can imagine, rich people, authors, scientists.
The difficulty was never a matter of resources, age, money or whatever someone may think. This difficulty has nothing to do with these things. At all.
But what is it?
Well, the dark side that lies beneath the whole process has always been the Prophecy someone feels they have to fullfill.
The idea we have of ourselves, the picture of ourselves our environmet has shaped in our heads and we believe it is true. The secret paradigm we follow and we have no idea we are doing it. The thermostat that keeps us down, because we are afraid to overcome the thermostats of the people we love.
I really believe that “The idea we have for ouselves is the only property we own”.
With the idea and the picture you have for yourself you can destroy many advantages you have, and on the other side, you can learn and create more while you have less if you support yourself maturely.
The prophecy someone feels like they must fullfil. And this applies to every single aspect. Including, of course, learning new things.
How a prophecy gets stuck in someone’s mind?
It comes from our early environment.
Most of us, we feel broken. We feel that no matter what we do, we will fail because this is what we do. We fail. No matter our inside and outside beauty, the talents and the kindness we have, most of us we feel something like the 20% — 80% of a human. Not complete.
Why?
Because someone told us something when we were little and we believed them. Was it a parent? A grandparent? A relative? A teacher? Society?
My idea of myself generally until my 30’s was that I was 70% of a human. And the others didn’t know that. Society had told me this. Not my parents. I think.
In learning, my idea of myself until the age of 30 was that I wasn’t “teachable” because I couldn’t concentrate and I still can’t. I didn’t also have the energy (my energy is always low), my mind is chaotic.
When I reached my 30’s the prophecy was fullfilled. I reached my 0. And I couldn’t stay there for practical reasons. I would either have to end my existence or build my way out. The people who loved me were the only reason I decided that I had to build my way out. Maybe I was lucky to fullfil the prophecy I had in my mind very young, so, at this lowst point, the only way was up.
This was the Day 1 of the school I created for myself and this time I knew from the side of the teacher what I had to do to help myself.
I started speaking to myself the way I spoke to my students. Now I was my student, and in reality we are the teachers AND the students of ourselves.
When we go deep, we realise that all these pictures and ideas of ourselves are put into us by primitive regimes, expressed by people we love or respect. When we make this clear and we see it with our eyes standing in front of us, we can learn anything we desire, as long as we want to.
There is nothing you cannot do, nothing you cannot learn, if you really want it to.
There is nothing we really desire to do that we cannot do it. Learning is more about psychology than it is about Grammar and Vocabulary.
Go deep
Create yourself.
Change the prophecy.
Create a new prophecy.
The only question you have to ask yourself is:
Do I really want to do it?
If the answer is an honest “YES” then, you make this your new prophecy.
I learn new things, I invest in myself because this is who I am. I am a complete, magnificent human who loves life and knowledge and is excited to learn new things.
Some years from now, you will see that learning Greek was just an outcome of this brilliant character of yours you have created for yourself.
Change the narrative in your mind, change the prophecy.
This is the only property we own.
If you are thinking about taking up Greek I can suggest 3 options for you:
- Private Classes. You can have a look at adult classes and we can arrange an online coffee so as to have all the time to reply to all your questions and then you can decide if what I do is a good fit for you or not.
- Group Classes. Have you checked the amazing memebership Demetra Lambros has created? Get all the infromation you want here
- Be self Taught with guidance. “Learn Greek without a Teacher” podcast, if you want to be a self-taught learner. It is perfect for complete beginners and those who want material to revise.
With Respect,
Teacher, Podcaster & CopyWriter @ MyGreekTeacher.com
