Did I tell you that??

Posted by derrick on January 28, 2005

I managed to get some time in to re-work the KayakWisconsin.net website. It was starting to get sloppy and needed a little tidying up. You will see that I also figured out the whole blogging template thing. So I got the blog looking more like the rest of the website layout.

If you came into the site through the blog be sure to check out the free stuff on the site. There are desktop wallpapers and a screensaver as well.

Blogs are a great reminder that we love to talk. Well, that’s not quite right. Many of us love to write or type but are fairly quiet in the “real” world. So with all this talking going I get thinking about the dangers of opening my mouth at all. Each day when I sit down to write or talk to folks about kayaking or computers or whatever else I am supposed to know a little about I can feel a bit under the gun. First I am always very aware that there are a couple billion people who know much more about any given subject than I do. Then there is just the fluidity of human opinion. Anything is up for debate in a world with no absolute truths. Thing is, I really enjoy teaching things that I have learned over the years. But then there is always someone out there to tell you why what you teach is totally wrong. And sooner or later someone will come up to you and say, “Hey remember that thing you said about . . . .. “, ” Well my buddy’s uncle said that . . . .” Well, you get the picture. So either you try to offer all the special circumstances to that situation, go through pains to clarify your point or just say, “Oh, really?” and move on. The problem I feel with just “moving on” and not addressing the issue, is that you make a decision that the student is not worth the time or effort. So invariably I get sucked into the clarification and specification routine. For good or bad.

Whenever I am asked to share information or teach others I try to refer to the common mis-interpretation of the Hippocratic Oath. “First, do no harm”. Certainly the sentiment is correct even if the direct translation is not. I think this a good starting point in instruction. If I can remember “Do No Harm”, I will be more apt to be sure of my information. I will be aware that my perspective is tainted by my experience. I will not take friends paddling in conditions where they do not feel safe or push them beyond their skill level. I will not suggest to someone that it’s easy to put a new CD-ROM in their computer.

The older we get naturally the more experience we gain. Thus it’s a given that we will share our knowledge and teach others what little bit we have learned over time. But if we are going to walk people into walls with bad information we should probably just bow out. Teaching always holds risk. Your character, your knowledge, your value as a person are always on the line. You do NOT want to tell someone how easy it is to upgrade their computer and have them call you when they push the power button and nothing happens. . . . They will never trust your opinion again.

It’s too bad none of us are perfect. It would sure make life easier. But that being as it may, if I can just keep thinking to myself “do no harm” hopefully I will be a better teacher, father, you name it. Finger’s crossed!!!