The Tyler Hayes

As a computer repairman, web designer, and social media practitioner, almost all of what I do on a daily basis is not what you’d consider “general knowledge.” Most is advanced knowledge, if not bleeding edge. Hence, I often get asked “How do I…?”

“How do I set up a home network?”
“How do I post an ad on Facebook?”
“How do I Photoshop my cat’s head onto my boyfriend’s body?”

Any of these queries could be answered with fairly little effort on their part. What I’ve discovered is that there is almost always a follow-up query, which is the real question being asked. Respectively:

“Is it safe?”
“Is it worth my time and effort?”
“Can you just do it instead?”

If you just answer the first query, the question remains unanswered. But if you listen, you’ll hear the second query being asked underneath the first one. This is what teachers do: they listen for the real problem. It doesn’t matter what the student’s reason is for asking the question; it could be out of embarrassment, misunderstanding, or blameless ignorance. What matters is that you teach the student, which means answering all questions. The trade-off is a little more time now versus a lot more time in the future.