Teach a Complex Skill

Argonaut’s Circles program is built on a set of 50 Essential Experiences, each designed to develop the skills in adolescence that lead to a happy, connected, purposeful life. These experiences are sorted into five categories: Independence, Connection, Healthy Body & Mind, Waking Up, and Making the World Better.

Essential Experience #10 is Teach a Complex Skill. A student might choose this experience if they feel they’ve mastered a specific skill - say, shooting three pointers, writing haiku, or cooking the perfect waffles - and are drawn to the challenge of teaching someone else to do it as well as them.

Teaching a complex skill is a humbling and enlightening experience. It requires the teacher to develop a much deeper understanding of the topic: they learned it one way, but may be forced to understand other ways of learning it to reach their student(s). They’ll need to develop deep listening to understand how their students are doing; flexibility to adapt as they go; and related teaching skills like planning and lesson design. They may develop some technical skills also, like teaching through an online platform, whether YouTube, Teachable, or the like, to convey their content to students.