How Can We Help Someone Learn
8 Mar
There is a Canadian Armed Forces Base near where I live. As such the Base runs training programs in my city on a regular basis.
On Saturday when I was out there were two soldiers walking down the street, both dressed in camouflage uniforms. The camouflage wasn’t working. It’s still Winter here and the uniforms were for Summer. But that’s beside the point.
What struck me about these two soldiers was that the one in the front was a big man. And following behind him was a small woman with a huge pack on her back.
If the pack she was carrying was set beside her it probably would have been 2/3 of her height. And it was almost as wide as she was.
She was bent quite far forward. It looked like each step was a struggle.
I watched the two of them until the light changed from red to green and then I drove past them.
The man in the lead was a big guy. He probably could have carried her and the pack she carried.
But he didn’t. He just kept walking. And she kept following.
The incident made me wonder why. Why was the man not helping her? I would have. Doesn’t one of the rules about being a man clearly state that the man has to carry stuff for the woman?
I don’t know Armed Forces ways. So I concluded that this was a training exercise.
He wasn’t helping her carry her load because she needed to do this.
He was helping her by walking with her. So she could achieve a goal. One that he probably had achieved a long time ago.
But I’m usually wrong?
Do you think the male soldier was helping by letting her carry the load or was just being a jerk by not helping the female soldier?
When you are trying to learn something new do you feel bitter when your “helper” doesn’t seem to be helping? Or do you just want them to guide you and let you learn by doing it yourself?
I think those in military shouldn’t have to follow the normal sex-etiquette rules. If a female chooses to make the military her career, she’s got to be able to hold her own. An enemy isn’t gonna cut her any slack, nor should her fellow soldiers. Plus, her team members need to know that they can depend on her if it comes down to it. They can’t baby her.
I find that’s true at higher levels of the work environment too. Sure, you should guide them to get them started, but then they have to learn to be self-sufficient, if they want to get anywhere in this life. I can tell pretty soon after someone is hired if they are gonna make it or not by the amount of initiative they show.
I don’t often wait for someone to show me how to do something. I may ask a couple questions to guide me in the right direction, but then I like to figure out the rest myself, because it sticks in my head longer that way. And then whatever I learn, I do my best to pass on to others.
skyetrueheart´s last blog ..I should’ve just drove the 45 minutes
I learn by doing so I want my helper to show me once and let me do it myself.
Trying to train someone who doesn’t care is really frustrating. Generally at work I tell them the procedure, show them how to do it and get them to do it and then give them a written set of instructions. But you are right. You can tell almost immediately whether any of it will sink in.
And I’m only guessing at what I saw with the soldiers. For all I know they may have been taking turns with the pack. Heck, they may not have even been together,ha,ha..