Erik: Why do you teach?

Jon: I teach because I personally learn more by standing in front of somebody and finding a way to present a complex concept, a unique idea, a case study or a method in a way that they can understand it, given that their background is unique to me. It’s not the same as my background. The foundation they have is – is either wildly different or even just – just a little difference. They’re going to approach it – the topic, the container of knowledge in a different way and so every time I’m forced to reposition whatever it is I’m trying to teach, I learn from that and I think that I forge new connections between things I already know and the way that I’m trying to explain what I’d like someone else to know. It’s absolutely not what a lot of people think of, when they think of teaching, which is I have all the knowledge and I will give the knowledge to you because I don’t have all the knowledge. In fact, I have very little of the knowledge. I have my own experiences in design and applying design in a number of different and pretty cool environments and contexts and I can speak to how that process is applicable across other contexts but you know I never – I never done that particular design project that you’re working on right now and so for me, it’s a process of learning. Arguably, it’s incredibly selfish, I mean, ‘Oh, the teacher is the most altruistic of all.’ That’s just not true because I probably get more out of teaching than my students do out of learning.