John Wooden wrote, “You haven’t taught until they’ve learned.” It’s a core belief for me.
Wooden elaborates,
“Teaching is much more than a job. It is a responsibility to those under my supervision—a responsibility to teach them. And how can I tell if I’ve taught them, if I’ve been successful? Right. Only if they’ve learned. Therefore, I have learned to focus on studying people, especially young people. I study the way they react, the way they are motivated, the way they are frustrated, and the way they work. This will help me discover the way they learn and when I discover that, I’m half way there. The methods I learned, both for the classroom and for the court, were created from and for my students.”
– John Wooden
No matter how many times I think I’ve taught something, I haven’t accomplished anything until they’ve learned.
Do my students not sing a chord correctly? I haven’t taught them.
Do my students not follow my conducting? I haven’t taught them.
Do my students not know their key signatures? I haven’t taught them.
Do my students make mistakes in performance that they didn’t make in rehearsal? I haven’t taught them.
If you aspire to be a great teacher, you must take the responsibility for any lack of learning. It rests with you. Not with students, not with culture, not with distractions, not with curriculum, not with anything but you.
Great teachers teach regardless of circumstances. Because they keep showing up and teaching, until their students have learned.