Teach in Order to Learn

I am expanding my teaching and training skills bit by bit and have become increasingly convinced that nothing challenges me to learn more than teaching.

I learned the way of life of Lingkod, the movement for single professional Catholics I belonged to, by giving the talks repeatedly for several years.

I learned the ins and out of Lex Libris and other CD Asia products by being tapped to train lawyers and legal researchers to use them.

I learned the basics of piano playing by heart when I subbed for my mother as piano teacher one summer a long time ago.

I learned "Legal Grammar" or English for lawyers when I gave one module on the subject.

The list goes on. I have become passionate for different causes and am able to share them to different groups because I am open to studying new ideas and acquiring new skills.

Today, I learned how to maximize my MacBook to teach music through GarageBand, Pages, and Keynote. I went home eager to practice the piano and listen to classical music. I shared a day with music teachers and it was an amazing exchange of knowledge, skills, and ideas. I was able to tap the creative side of my brain, which usually has to lie low when I'm doing my job as a lawyer and a professor.

I no longer need to read manuals from cover to cover before teaching a new course, according to my friend who facilitated the training earlier today. I need to keep pace with today's learners - my students - by learning and adapting in a much quicker pace than my teachers in their time were required to do.

This new year has opened even more new doors of possibilities and opportunities. I am grateful for the chance to learn and impart, to think and perform, to grow and improve.

This tells me that I have moved on from the things of the past. I have learned from them, too.