Today, My Student Became My Teacher

My student as my teacher

Today, I had my first guzheng lesson.

The interesting part was not just that I learnt a new instrument.

The interesting part was that my teacher was my student.

Some time ago, I asked one of my students to teach me guzheng. We treated it as a proper lesson arrangement, not just a casual favour. I gave her time to plan a short lesson series, and I told her that by the end of the series, she had to make sure I could play the instrument properly enough to play something simple.

So yes, she was not just “showing me a bit.”

She was teaching.

Today was our first lesson.

She showed me how to identify the strings, how to pluck properly, and how to follow a simple beginner score. By the end of the lesson, I could play something — slowly, carefully, and very much at “ultimate noob beginner” level, but still something.

And I was not pretending to make mistakes to make her feel better.

I was genuinely learning.

Which means I made genuinely beginner-level mistakes.

Wrong string, wrong rhythm, awkward fingers, confused face — the full beginner package. There was laughter in the room. She repeated the demonstration when I got things wrong. I tried again. We joked about it. Nobody treated the mistakes like a disaster.

That was probably my biggest takeaway from the lesson.

A safe learning space is not a place where nobody makes mistakes. It is a place where mistakes can happen without shame.

As tutors, we are usually the ones guiding, correcting, explaining, and repeating. We get used to being the person who knows more in that particular subject. But today was a good reminder that this is only one side of the relationship.

Being the teacher does not mean being above the student. It only means you are responsible for guiding them in that moment.

In today’s lesson, she was the one guiding me. She knew what to do. I did not. She demonstrated. I copied. She corrected. I adjusted. She was patient. I was the beginner.

And honestly, it was nice to be reminded of that feeling.

When a student finds one area difficult, it can become too easy to overlook the other things they already know, practise, and care about. A student may need help in one area, but that does not mean they have nothing to teach. They may have skills, interests, experiences, and knowledge that adults do not have.

Today, I saw my student in a different role.

Not as someone receiving help.

Not as someone being corrected.

But as someone capable of guiding another person.

That matters.

It is also a reminder for adults. Supporting a child does not mean removing every hard thing from their path. Sometimes it means staying calm beside them while they learn how to handle mistakes, frustration, and unfamiliar things.

Everyone has something they are not good at.

Children do. Adults do too.

The important thing is not to avoid every weakness or unfamiliar skill. We learn to cope, improve, and try again — even when something feels awkward at first.

Today, for me, that awkward thing was guzheng.

My fingers did not always cooperate. My brain had to work harder than expected. The score looked simple, but simple does not mean easy when the skill is new.

And that is exactly what learning often feels like.

So I am grateful for today’s lesson.

I am grateful that my student took the role seriously. I am grateful that she was patient with my mistakes. I am grateful that she showed me something she knew better than I did.

Most of all, I am grateful for the reminder that learning does not only move in one direction.

Sometimes the tutor teaches.

Sometimes the tutor learns.

And today, my student became my teacher.