When the Student Becomes the Teacher

"If you live in the United States, you have the privilege of pursuing your passion and living your dream. Many people around the world don’t have that freedom."

-- Diana Adams, Journalist, Founder/CEO Adams Consulting Group

"We can only make our new ideas real, when they integrate with the old."

-- Professor Tim Kastelle, Innovation Management Specialist, TEDxUQ, 2014

Summer is a time when people try to engage more with family, and think more about the benefits of leisure and taking time to play. These are both important for better work/life balance, especially in today's technologically driven, fast paced, globally connected society. Summer is also a time to rethink our overall culture of learning, especially with regard to education and entrepreneurship. The classroom venues and lessons may change, but the goals are the same:

• To hone our ability to truly "live in the moment", learn from the journey i.e. process, and be more passionate and outcome independent in our self education, as well as our various pursuits

• To hone our ability to "connect the dots" within our past experiences (episodic memory) and current ones, so that we can use our imagination for increased creative problem solving; the raison d'être of the human experience, let alone entrepreneurship

• To hone our ability to provide others with "teachable moments" based on our own understanding that we are both student and teacher in life, and that thinking differently leads to acting differently. Both result in increased social communication proficiency and ethical prowess seen by the transformation of Me into We

I've been pondering these three points recently and their practical implications for critical thinking in education and entrepreneurship. These are my two "factions", and arenas where divergent thinking (using old ideas and new technology) is needed for creativity and top down learning. Divergent thinking is becoming a necessity, not just a luxury in our current startup culture. It occurred to me a while ago that the roads to self-education and true success in the United States today are comprised of unlearning things and tapping into our inner-child. So that we can we can stay on course and reclaim our true selves; forged in wonder and untainted by the jaded, overstimulated, "been there done that" mentality that comes from complacency, hubris, and excess.

I've been reading an excellent book that really hits this home; Creativity, Inc. by President of Pixar Ed Catmull and journalist Amy Wallace. This must read book is about an admirable group of mavericks, visionaries, tech-geeks, and entrepreneurs in touch with their inner-child, who gifted the world with brilliant, whimsical, evocative films the likes of Toy Story and Finding Nemo. It deserves its own post, which gave me these two crucial takeaways:

• "Ideas come from people, so people are more important than ideas"

• "The process of developing a story is one of discovery"

Incidentally, many of us learn these truths, or should, in childhood. Childhood sets the stage for our Story i.e. our journey. Childhood imbues us with the passions and perspectives that carry us into adulthood. Childhood prepares us for our lifelong noble juggling act of Me vs. We.

We are taught so much as children, but have you ever considered what children can teach us?

How often do we see children taking on the role of both student and teacher; something incumbent on us to do, no matter our age, gender, geographical location, or industry? We can learn so much from others, especially children. Here's what children have taught me:

1. Be emotionally open. Be prepared to show kindness, honest passion, and vulnerability. Emote. Be emotionally engaged with others.

2. Be curious. Read! Invest in a current library card and/or technology classes/webinars/demos, to keep learning. Visit an Apple Store just because. Attend a workshop or conference, or try an online course from Coursera. Explore the outdoors. Converse with strangers. Travel. Near and far. Become adaptable.

3. Be industrious. Develop hobbies and skills. Try to expand them and apply what you have learned to other situations. Work hard. Play harder. Find that balance that works for you. Become better able to self regulate, and engage in more productive time management behaviors.

4. Be honest. With yourself. With others. Ask for feedback. Provide accurate feedback. Politely. Humbly. Effectively. Humorously.

5. Be optimistic. Approach each new day and opportunity with enthusiasm, self confidence, and with humor, especially on those hard days. Be cheerful about the small things. Be resilient and stoic (after having a good cry) about the large things. Change the way you view obstacles, setbacks, and the unknown. Be in touch with your "inner child" who sees the wonder all around.

6. Be present. Live in the moment. Don't dwell on the past or fret about the future. Enjoy what you have, and what you are doing at this moment in time. Embrace the now.

7. Be eager to tell and hear stories. Use your listening skills. Hone your imagination and flair for drama. Pay attention. Ask questions. Make time for stories again.

Ongoing learning requires that we retain our childish curiosity, imagination, innocence, optimism, transparency, and enthusiasm for our daily routines. So that we can teach the critical thinking, creative process, and innovation that all educators and entrepreneurs aspire to. So that the student can truly become the teacher, especially in this iEra with its plethora of technology. So that more people can contribute more purposefully and meaningfully to society as a whole.

Penina Rybak is the founder/CEO of Socially Speaking LLC, and the creator of the Socially Speaking™ iPad App. Penina is a national speaker on the topics of social communication development and strategies, iPad App integration into professional workflows and educational curricula, and practical and psychological aspects to female entrepreneurship. She is the author of The NICE Reboot-A Guide to Becoming a Better Female Entrepreneur: How to Balance Your Cravings for Humanity & Technology in Today's Startup Culture. To learn more, visit her websites: www.niceinitiative.com and/or sociallyspeakingLLC.com, and follow her on Twitter: @PopGoesPenina.