What makes a great teacher?

[First published in Horses, Inc., 2007]

The best teacher I’ve ever had was the guy who taught swine medicine and production during my 4th year of vet school. Now, I just can’t express to you how little interest I had in swine medicine and production! It was about on par with the poultry and meat science courses. Even so, I never missed one of his lectures, and with very little study I aced the course. I’ve long since forgotten his name, but I’ve often thought about him over the years and what it was that made his lectures so compelling. What is it that makes a great teacher?

Here’s what I think made the pig guy such a great teacher:

1. A passion for the subject.

The guy loved pigs. He was enthusiastic about the animals, the farmers, the industry; everything porcine. Each to his own, I say. The point is that he was really into what it was he was teaching about, and as a result he continued to learn and expand as a practitioner and as a teacher. That’s an essential component of being a great teacher.

When you’re looking for a great riding instructor, pick someone who loves horses and who has a passion for equestrian activities, preferably for your chosen sport or discipline. You may think that anyone who is involved in the horse industry must do it because they love horses. My experience has shown me that that’s not necessarily the case. I’ve met lots of people in the horse industry who seem to hold horses and horse people in low regard. Either they’re in it for other reasons or they’ve let their love of horses get clouded by all sorts of other stuff (e.g. greed, pride, fear).

The trainers and instructors who clearly love horses are not hard to spot: they radiate horsiness and horses are drawn to them. We all know when we’re loved and appreciated; horses are no different in that regard, and they respond accordingly.

2. A deep knowledge of the subject.

The guy knew pigs. Inside and out. His lectures were full of both theory and practice, and he made sure we had a solid foundation in swine medicine and production. These days I’d barely be able to tell erysipelas from influenza, but by the end of his course I felt that I could walk into a piggery and not disgrace myself (or my teacher) with my ignorance.

In this age of instant electronic information, all sorts of self-proclaimed experts have popped up in the horse industry and elsewhere. In many cases it’s hard to tell the truly knowledgeable from those just seeking an audience or an income. A truly great teacher won’t leave you guessing. They’ll be happy to detail their credentials and educational background, and they’ll be happy to explain their approach to the subject and demonstrate their depth of knowledge about it. You just need to ask.

3. A wide experience of the subject.

The guy really knew pigs. He came to the university teaching position after years of working as a swine vet. He knew his stuff, not just from books and vet journals, but from the floors of countless piggeries. And he continued to work in the industry, heading the vet school farm’s piggery and doing consulting work for commercial piggeries all over the country.

It’s important that a teacher have both knowledge and experience. As someone once said, too many of us are over-taught and under-done. Schools and books are important. Without that knowledge as our foundation, we’d make way too many unnecessary mistakes and we’d reinvent the wheel way too many times. But on its own, knowledge is not enough. I remember another wise lecturer telling us in vet school that all our education provided was the bare bones, the skeleton. It was up to us to flesh it out, once we graduated and went into practice.

Experience tempers and refines the knowledge we gain in school and from books, knowledge that is somewhat removed from daily life. It also softens and refines us; it knocks the sharp edges off us and helps make us better teachers. You’re far more understanding of someone else’s shortcomings when life has brought you face to face with your own. That understanding is the beginning of wisdom, another essential component of a truly great teacher.

4. A passion for teaching.

The guy loved teaching. In particular, he loved teaching vet students about pigs. I think he even converted a couple of my classmates to swine practice! That wasn’t the case with some other lecturers we had. In fact, the guy who taught the equine medicine course (something I’d waited for with breathless anticipation since the first day of vet school) was about as compelling as dish water. We could tell that there was somewhere else he’d rather be and something more important he’d rather be doing. (He’s since become a world authority on laminitis, so it turns out he really did have something more important to do ☺).

Don’t assume that just because someone is successful in their field (e.g. a winning rider or trainer) they’re a great teacher. I think having a passion for teaching is something you either have or you don’t. Teaching seems to be one of those archetypal things. If you don’t have it, you can still become a good teacher; but I don’t think you become a truly great teacher unless you have that spark within that impels you to share your knowledge and experience, and get a genuine kick out of seeing the light come on in your students.

5. Humility and respect.

For all his vast knowledge and experience of swine medicine and the swine industry, the guy was an unassuming character. He often came to class in his work clothes (complete with faint whiff of pig), and he always spoke to us as though we were already his colleagues. Even more important to me, he always treated pigs with respect, both when talking about them in lectures and when working with them in the piggery. Sure, they were destined to become luncheon meat; but in the meantime, they deserved to be treated with kindness and respect. Humility and respect, both for the subject and the student, is another hallmark of a truly great teacher.

This element of his character highlights a subtle but important distinction between the truly great teachers and those who teach primarily to have an audience. You’ll have no doubt come across a number of teachers, some of whom are very knowledgeable, who talk just to impress or manipulate. Perhaps you haven’t quite been able to put your finger on it, but if they left you feeling more stupid or inept than when you came in to the class or the lesson, then they lacked this quality of a truly great teacher.

A truly great teacher inspires as well as instructs. A truly great teacher respects his students enough to create a safe space in which the student can learn and grow, make mistakes, and make corrections, all without fear of ridicule or failure. Because of that, a truly great teacher creates the means by which the student can go on to become great herself.

We’re not all cut out to be great teachers; we each have our own unique sets of talents and purpose. But for those of us who do choose to teach, I think it is incumbent upon us to give some thought to the great teachers we’ve had in our lives—and to some of the not-so-great ones as well. We have much to learn from both. And for all of us who are students, I think we owe it to ourselves to keep searching until we find a truly great teacher. We deserve nothing less, and so do our horses.