Some of the most important teaching occurs when we are not trying to teach. The teacher should be more motivated by genuine concern than by the content of a curriculum. The object of the teacher’s focus should not be the content; the object should be the person.
Sometimes I can teach more by being near than by saying more. Natural proximity is essential. Influence is always the product of proximity (even if it isn’t geographic). Often the teacher can achieve more through (subtle) influence than through (overt) instruction.
