How to Be a Student

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

An open mind.
A willingness to learn.
An ability to take instruction and feedback.

Step 1

Formal Education.

Ego and Formal Education: Ego may be the most hindering aspect of human psychology when it comes to learning. Of course, there does come a point in any growing person’s formal education where one begins to realize that the quest for a mentor or teacher is getting more difficult. This is a good thing. If you are over the age of twenty-five and still feel as though you have worlds of knowledge to gain from every human being you come in contact with, you should consider the challenge of more higher education. If you have a higher degree, and feel you have very little to learn from the people around you, you should consider finding a mentor who can help you develop a sense of empathy, because you are likely now a teacher to many (even if you don’t realize it). I say this because, according to the most recent Census Bureau data, only 25.9 % of U.S. citizens over the age of 25 have a bachelor’s degree. This is not to say that just because one holds a degree that this person is an expert in all areas of life (not by any means). However, the amount of knowledge, life skills, and worldly connections one gains in four years of a college education does often set an individual up for a life of learning at a higher caliber than those who choose alternative paths. If nothing else, it teaches one how to sift through the plethora of information available in the world today and recognize what is worth one’s time and what is an exercise in futility. This dynamic of college educated vs non-college educated is a source of many egotistical battles on many levels in our country. When only one in four people have viable information on what is really going on in the world (and even that information is focused in one subject area), in a country that has free speech and freedom of choice, being able to recognize when one should be a student and when one should be a teacher is extremely important. Do not let your pride and ego get in the way of gaining knowledge from those more educated than you. They are not intentionally trying to talk down to you; they are simply talking about things they understand from their own education. Knowing when to accept realities that are bigger than you are and listen can be a huge first step toward being a competent student.
Step 2

Experiencial Education.

Informal Education: Formal education can do a lot for the growth of the human mind. However, there is more to life than just thinking. Many of your best mentors in non-academic areas may come from the most unlikely places. For instance, say you want to get into biking, or running, or swimming as a form of exercise. Coaches are excellent teachers as well, but again learning from them requires a lack of ego on the part of the participant. If you are the type of proud individual who always thinks you know more than those trying to teach you, you are likely in for a life of struggling with middle-of-the-road experiences. On the other hand, if you can learn to take direction and constructive feedback without taking it personally, it is likely you will eventually learn to excel in many areas of your choosing. Teachers often have ego troubles of their own. If you come to a person looking for direction and then rebuke them when they try to tell you a better way to do something, it is likely they are not going to give you the information you came for. After all, it is their choice to be teaching you at all. They could hoard this information to themselves and use it against you. Teachers are on your side. Let them help.
Step 3

The Trickster.

Recognizing Teachers: These are some of the big-picture ideas to understanding why it is important to be a student throughout one’s life. Learning happens in many ways, in many forums, and under the guise of many agendas. One should also recognize when one is being taught for good and when one is being manipulated by someone smarter than they are toward a negative purpose (usually so that person can make money off of you). This is a very tricky area. In mythology, the coyote often plays the role of “the trickster.” He is sly, sarcastic, ironic, and manipulative, but always with a positive purpose. Humans are creatures of habit, ritual, and the status quo. We often give in to our laziness and apathy. We run on auto-pilot, reducing our lives to eating, sleeping, and working on random tasks for money, avoiding challenging and difficult people. Sometimes this is much advised as difficult people may be looking to stir up trouble out of bitterness, rebellion, or anger. These people often don’t understand the proper avenues to take to get what they want accomplished and may resort to violence or inhumane behaviors that cause emotional discord for us all. The coyote, or trickster style of teaching, however, will sometimes use harmless, unorthodox methods to get one’s attention—often including jokes, sarcasm, irony, making fun of status quo norms and institutions, and patronizing even the most honorable of figures in an attempt to make obvious the human flaws that exist in us all. “Honorable” people sometimes have a habit of confusing dogma with intellect and can become very stubborn, rigid, and self-righteous in their ideologies. Coyote teachers, by remaining in touch with their own humanity, can cut through the high and mightiness of the status quo and point out that despite all their hard work and principles, there are still many flaws in themselves and in the world that need to be addressed. These can be some of the most revolutionary and profound teachers one will come across in one’s life. So, remain discerning about whom you take direction from, but ask yourself, “Is there any real harm in what this person is doing or saying? Or is this something that makes me uncomfortable simply because it breaks the rules of what I consider ‘normal’?” If the latter is true, you may have found someone with many profound lessons to teach you.