Coyote Teaching is an art form that is useful to all people.
In a synthesized form Coyote Teaching is an active practice of learning to live by example. This method operates out of the belief that as a mentor my actions speak louder than my words. Coyote Teachers strive to understand what they are teaching through constantly learning more. A Coyote Teacher will first experience a lesson then tactfully use the power of wonder to draw the student in. Our indigenous ancestors often used this method, for example, when an Apache grandmother taught a young boy how to weave a watertight basket she first became a master at the skill. Then when the time was right she gave the boy the cedar bark needed for him to do it himself. This allows the boy's passion for the skill to be found through a personal motivation to learn. All the grandmother did was practice the skill that she wanted to teach, no lecturing nor textbooks were needed. Just the continued experience of an ancient skill. The Apache boy will grow old and teach the next generation in the same way his grandmother taught him. When one is Coyote Taught they will naturally learn how to Coyote Teach. This is because Coyote Teaching values experiential education over instant gratification and thus creates an ongoing generational cycle of thinkers and problem solvers.
Both the student and the teacher in Coyote Teaching are encouraged to ask questions and seek their own answers. Coyote Teaching is an endless learning journey. To an endless Coyote learner, everyone and everything is a teacher and one must remember to question everything. When we "think we know" or "know we know" something fully we lose our ability to learn more about it. Through the art of questioning, Coyote Teaching encourages students to keep learning & evolving. This is a key aspect because it helps students to navigate the adaptable & constantly changing world we live in. In a world that is ever-changing, "Knowledge cannot be recited but only learned over and over again." Continual experience then is the remedy or essential antidote to the knowledge that this quote speaks of. Ever learning in humility a Coyote Teacher learns more from their students than the students learn from them.
Failure is also an important aspect of Coyote Teaching. Students are given permission to fail and encouraged to try again. This prepares them for future navigation of life and again teaches problem-solving. Lessons for students will come from the personal experiences that they go through. A Coyote Teacher then is the facilitator of the experience, the one who holds space and offers service and support while actively learning alongside the student.