The Protégé Effect: learn by teaching others

I wrote this in April 2020, during lockdown. It’s where Code with Pav really began.

Ancient Roman philosopher Seneca once said, “when we teach, we learn”. If this is true, then we must be learning a lot more than what we give ourselves credit for. Especially right now. This is known as “The Protégé Effect”.

Needless to say, this pandemic has disrupted businesses in unpredictable ways. That “2020 vision” is hardly a priority now. For some, it’s practically impossible to continue operating. Others have, for lack of a better word, “embraced” the situation and utilised different ways of working which they had not considered before. A good example is the many fitness and yoga instructors who have now started teaching their students remotely in real-time or pre-recorded and behind a paywall. I can bet most will continue this alongside their usual way of working after this pandemic is over.

This entire situation inspired me to think about what skills and knowledge I have that others may want to learn during the “lockdown”. Now my list isn’t very long and I’m no yoga teacher, but I’ve been teaching myself various coding languages for a while. I figured that some would also be curious as to what “coding” is and how they can have a go at it. This would benefit those who want to upskill or simply want to join an activity with others to distract themselves from the pandemic.

I put a message out to my network that I will teach small groups for free, for 40 minutes per week (the “free plan” on Zoom has a 40-minute cap). The response was bigger than I had expected. Some who signed up asked to bring a friend, and their friends asked to bring a friend and so on. Over the following weekend, I had run three separate classes spanning Singapore, India, and the UK for 20 “students”. I am proud to say that due to these classes, each student is now able to code and run basic lines of Python. We’re now going to look at some of the more advanced concepts in the coming weeks. It is up to each individual if they want to continue with my classes or independently work towards their individual goals.

Going back to what Seneca said, I’m convinced that I’m learning a lot by teaching. Those who have signed up for my classes are absolutely great and ask challenging questions which then encourages me to think from diverse perspectives. It also helps me to remember key concepts that I would normally forget about if I wasn’t being challenged.

So if you are keen to beat those lockdown blues, think about sharing the knowledge you have with others who might benefit from it. This will be a great opportunity to challenge yourself, learn more, and help others. Consider also joining a class and use this time to finally pursue your passion.