The Heart of Success

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“We think we are teaching what we know. 

We hope that we are teaching what we believe.

But really, all we can ever teach is who we are.”

Rabbi Benay Lappe

My own children are grown and recently out of the house, so my geeky husband and I frequently listen to a TED Talk after dinner.   Recently we listened to Simon Sinek on "How Great Leaders Inspire Action."  Sinek asks why people like Dr. King, the Wright Brothers, or organizations like Apple, are successful and answers his question by explaining human motivation using three concentric circles: the inner circle titled, “why” the center circle, “how,” and the outer circle, “what.”  Sinek observes that inspiring leaders think and communicate from the inside or interior belief systems, versus from the rational mind, the area that explains what is or should be done.  Dr. King didn’t tell people what to do; rather, he told them what he believed.  As Sinek says, “people don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.”  If people understand this, they too will be motivated and follow.  The graphic makes perfect sense for if a person works from the heart, the core, or the center, labor feels more like a vocation than a chore, and others can sense this difference.

Of course, teachers are leaders of children.  The same rationale explains what makes great teaching.  Many years ago I attended a summer institute on teaching ethics sponsored by The Curriculum Initiative.  Rabbi Benay Lappe was one of the primary instructors, and at the start of her week with us, she said what all good teachers know, that the best teaching comes from simply maintaining authenticity in the classroom.  Students can usually sniff out a fake in minutes, and they won’t respond with sincere effort.  If you are teaching because you believe in the kids and want to be with them, they will know, and it is this that will inspire achievement.  If you are focused on the outcomes only, those outcomes are likely to be lackluster.

What makes a great teacher is not the lesson itself or gimmicky techniques.  Students are like anyone else, they won’t buy the what, but they will buy in if the teacher wants to be in the classroom and is motivated from the heart. 

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