Today I filled the role of teacher as I taught a new volunteer chaplain how to use our software for entering chaplain visits.  I remembered how when I learned the program I felt the emotions of being rushed and of feeling self conscious as I was being watched making every keystroke.

Taking my emotions into account made me a better teacher because I tried to time my instructions to the speed at which the student was moving through the data fields.  As she became more experienced I would let her make the entries while I was away from the screen and then double check them prior to the entry being saved.

Remembering my emotions from 4 years ago when I was a student made me a more effective today as a teacher.  Emotions can be great guides to shape how we do things.  But to learn from them we must recognize them as we experience them and then remember them for future use.