As well as being a lifetime learner, I was a teacher in a one-room school in NE that contains grades K-6. It is a challenge at times, and I don’t always know if I am teaching the students what they need to know.
One day I asked a person whom I respect the million dollar question,
“What makes a good teacher?”
His response is now framed in a spot where I will look at it daily as a reminder of my goal as a teacher.
“A good teacher inspires the quest for knowledge!”
The study of natural horsemanship has developed and inspired an insatiable hunger in me for more and more knowledge about horses and their relationship with people. It seems that I just can’t get enough, and I realize just how much more I have to learn.
I believe the most important discovery that I have made in my journey to become more natural with horses is that “WHO WE ARE", is as important, if not more so, than what knowledge we claim to possess.”
Knowledge without the correct attitude can be a recipe for disaster. I think it is called wisdom when knowledge and attitude are united in a joint effort toward application.
The principles that I have learned through my quest for knowledge have transformed my way of thinking, and provided me with the knowledge and change of attitude that was necessary for me to become a better horseman, teacher, wife, and friend.
It is very difficult for a teacher to inspire a quest for knowledge if the student does not trust the teacher. To illustrate this point I would like to tell an embarrassing story about myself. I was a real skeptic when I went to my first natural horsemanship clinic.However, I was open minded enough to see that what they were doing was working better than what I was doing.
We all know that old habits are hard to kill. I was so attached to my bit and bridle for safety that I needed them as my security blanket, or so I thought. I rode for the first couple of months with them under my natural rope halter. After two months of not needing my old equipment, I learned a valuable lesson: TRUST MY TEACHER and FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS IN ORDER AND CAREFULLY.
I want to thank my teachers for inspiring me on a quest for knowledge that has improved my horsemanship skills beyond my wildest dreams.
I am sure that my horses send a whinny of great appreciation as well. Come to think of it everyone else in my life may want to tip their hats also, because I believe they have noticed positive, progressive, and natural changes in me.
The quest for knowledge is the responsibility of each individual but it is so wonderful to have teachers that can inspire us to areas unimagined.
This article was published in "Savvy Times". However, I am not associated with the Parelli's in any way, other than I highly respect and admire their work.
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