3
 minute read

Teaching teaching and coaching coaching

Written by
Jeremy Askew
Published on

At school we are taught to do but not taught to teach or coach. Why is that?

Teaching and coaching is its own skill, it has to be learned. You don’t need to be an expert to teach or coach, but you do need to be a good teacher or coach to be effective.

Personally, I resented having to play lowest set rugby and hockey year after year with no hope of ever being in a meaningful team. What did that teach me? Not to enjoy rugby or hockey. I can't imagine the teachers got much joy out of it either.

In addition to the time and effort wasted on the disinterested and incapable, more is wasted on things irrelevant in the modern world – handwriting and foreign languages spring to mind.

How much time as adults will we spend on playing rubbish rugby, writing long letters and speaking anything other than English?

And how much will we spend teaching and coaching as parents, team leaders and business owners?

And what do our schools focus on? And what is better for UK plc?

Wouldn't quite a few of us have been much more engaged and useful if we have been taught teaching and coaching?

Why aren't we teaching teaching and coaching coaching?