as i was working on a patient, i thought of my role as a teacher and as a "healer." i thought, actually, about my role as a participant in my world...

when i work on soft tissue, there is a point of resistance beyond which it becomes intrusive and invasive to proceed. my job as a "healer" or bodyworker is to approach that point of resistance in as inobtrusive a manner as possible, and just "stay there," and wait for something to happen. yes, there is some degree of intention on my part, because oftentimes i have to move things in certain directions; but the greater part of what i do is what i DON'T do. a greater part of what i do is simply meeting the patient at the point of resistance and doing nothing.

i thought about this with regards to teaching as well. the ideal teacher (which, i realize, i am not, although i strive for this) strives to meet the student where he or she is at (the point of resistance). this place of meeting is articulated in a variety of ways, depending upon theoretical orientation... for example, there is vygotsky's zone of proximity (i think that's what he called it)... and in early childhood educational theory, there is talk about "entering the child's world, in order to interact through it." one might also talk about formative assessment in this regard. the point is that the teacher has to first approach and "know" the student well. this initial approach and understanding of the student is itself "therapeutic" if done properly, because it initiates in the student a feeling of trust and "being known and understood."

the crux and debate of teaching comes when we consider what to do when we meet the student at the point of resistance, and when (or how quickly) to do it. if we are particularly forceful, then we assert our agenda; if we are more aligned with the constructivist orientation, then we only provide minimal guidance, and allow education to take place in its truest sense ("educate" comes from a latin root meaning "to draw out")... i believe it depends on what you are trying to teach, and to whom. younger children require order and structure with regards to instruction in the basics of reading and math. at the same time, they should be given the opportunity to "play," preferably with "toys" that allow them to discover the world. older students, on the other hand, refuse to be "told what to do," and unless they evince or demonstrate a passion for an art to the same degree as the teacher, then it makes little sense to try to "impose" instruction upon them.