Sure...but can you juggle?

An Instructor wanted to illustrate a lesson with the class he was teaching. Most of the class had been breezing through the lesson and exercises and he could hear their comments about how 'easy' it was. So, he decided to help them understand that there is a difference between competency and mastery.

"I need a volunteer please." the Instructor announced.

Without hesitation, one of the more ambitious boys moved up to the front of the class, ready to assist.

The Instructor reached into his desk drawer and pulled out 1 brightly coloured ball about the size of an orange. He tossed it to the boy and said

"I'd like you to toss this ball into the air and then catch it. Once you catch it I'd like you to toss it into your opposite hand and repeat the exercise. Do you understand?"

The boy nodded his head with a wry smile on his face. An easy exercise he thought and he began to toss. As the boy continued tossing the ball, the Instructor went back to his desk and took out another ball--identical to the first one.

"Now, I'd like you to do the same exercise with both. Do you feel comfortable with taking on this extra step?"

"Of course!" the boy chuckled as if the question itself was ridiculous.

The second ball was added and without much effort the boy tossed both back and forth and into the air. The Instructor looked around the class and saw what he largely expected; dull, glazed over looks. The exercise was not exactly thrilling to watch. Never the less, he persisted.

After another minute, the Instructor went back to his desk and pulled out a knife. Suddenly the classroom was abuzz with chatter. The boy at the front of the room stopped tossing and looked cautiously at the Instructor.

“Now I’d like you to add this knife into the exercise.” The boy answered with an emphatic ‘No’.

The Instructor smiled and said “But it’s the same thing you were doing with the other two balls. Surely you can handle one more item?” But the boy was adamant and would not continue the exercise. After taking his seat the Instructor addressed the class.

“Tossing one ball into the air and catching it requires little skill. Would you agree?” The class nodded and murmured their agreement.

“The chances of dropping that ball are close to zero. Would you agree?” Again, the class nodded in agreement.

“Yet how many of you have ever tossed a ball into the air….and missed catching it?” Hands went up around the room.

“I see. So, by your own admission, there is a chance that you could drop the ball. The question you should ask yourself is why? Why would you drop it? Now there are any number of factors that could contribute to you dropping it. The wind caught it. The sun was in your eyes. You were distracted. But these are simply excuses to the underlying cause. You have the competency to catch the ball, but not the mastery to do it without error.”

The boy from the exercise raised his hand to ask a question.

“But I didn’t drop the ball. I didn’t drop either one so that must show that I’ve mastered the exercise, right?”

“Then why did you stop when I asked you to juggle the knife?” asked the Instructor.

“Well, it was dangerous! It’s not like juggling a ball. I could’ve gotten hurt! Juggling a ball and a knife are two completely different things.” The boy replied.

“But are they really?” asked the Instructor.

“You see, the principles of juggling—when taught properly, can be applied to juggling almost any item. Once you master the core requirements of the act; calculating weight, height, rotation, timing, then you can juggle even the most complex items.

The difference in this case is not the fact that you were asked to juggle a knife, but the fact that you hadn’t mastered the act of juggling. Tossing a ball in the air and catching it does not make you a juggler. It makes you competent on how to toss and catch a ball. If you haven’t been taught the basics then how can you be expected to do more work that requires extra skills—skills you have yet to be taught?

As an Instructor, it is my job to ensure you are taught all aspects and elements of a lesson before moving on to a more complicated task. While you may think these exercises we are doing are easy or a waste of time, they are actually laying the foundations of mastery. The more your practice the basics and the more we correct errors at the basic level, the more prepared you will be for the next level of competency.

So, the next time you believe you’ve mastered a task or subject, test your theory using the following exercise:

·     Tell me what the 17th letter of the alphabet is without having to recite it or sing it in your head

·     Recite the alphabet out loud… now do it backwards

If you stumble at all with any of these 3 tasks, you should go back to the drawing board and keep practicing as it means you haven't mastered the alphabet yet. Yes, you've used it for years but have never truly perfected the use of it . Mastering a subject does not happen overnight and will never happen if you’re not humble enough to go back to the basics to sharpen your skills.”

The class fell silent. The Instructor became dismayed as it seemed his message had fallen on deaf ears. But after a closer look, a smile stretched across his face. His students weren’t ignoring him; they were waiting on him—pens at the ready—to start back in on the lesson and learn how to become not just competent, but masters.