The Value of Patience

Last week when I was helping an 8th grade student study for his upcoming math test, I learned the value of being patient. For over a week, this student was having difficulties grasping the concept of exponents and using scientific notation. However, on Friday, problems that were once unsolvable for this student suddenly made sense. While Friday may have seemed like a moment of "Divine Inspiration," I now realize that the reason why this student was able to solve these problems was because of his perseverance and dedication to learn the material. Additionally, this student's success was also dependent upon me being patient with him. While I could have easily have taken the test myself, I realized that my role as a tutor was not to simply get the problems solved. Instead, my job was to show this student how to do something that he couldn't do before, and this required patients, and ultimately good communication. In a past post, I made the statement that “good communication is essential to being a good leader,” and this experience further reinforced that idea. This experience showed me that people learn through different methods, and while we may not intuitively understand another person's way of learning, one way to bridge the gap is through patience. Being patient bridges this gap by forcing us to analyze another person, meet them where they are, and communicate in a way that that person will understand. And while it is true that our LTI students won't all become teachers, the fact is that being a good leader requires the attribute of being able to teach. As a result, I can't stress enough the importance of the communication skill that we teach to our students in each LTI session, because these skills not only help them communicate better, but in the process these skills make them better leaders.

Your Public Relations Chair,

Walter Anazonwu