There’s an exam that every flight instructor in the US who doesn’t already have a teaching credential has to take called Fundamentals of Instruction. Pilots generally hate it because it’s the only exam not about flying. It’s the FAA’s opinionated view on instruction.

I liked it. There’s something that’s stuck with me for 10 years that was on the first page of the textbook. It’s the definition of learning and teaching.

Learning is a change in behavior. I like that way of looking at it. It’s not just filling your head with information. You have to change the way that you act in the world. No change in behavior, no learning.

If learning is a change in behavior, then what’s teaching? There’s an obvious answer, which is changing someone’s behavior. But, that’s not the FAA’s answer. Their answer is that teaching is creating an environment for learning. You don’t change the student directly. You don’t transmit information into their head. You create an environment where change will occur.

This is a lot like growing a plant. I can’t make an apple tree. The only thing that can do that is an apple seed. But, what I can do is put an apple seed in the ground, give it water and food and create an environment where it will grow and change.

The teacher plants can do this for us, too. They create environments that cause growth and change by bringing up visions, emotions, pain and pleasure.

There’s a part of me that’s doubtful when someone says a plant spoke to them. “Aya told me…” At least in my own experience I haven’t been able to tell the difference between a plant voice and the voice of my own mind. But, I have no doubt that these plants can be great teachers by changing our world.