What does Teaching Mean?

With the internet doing what the internet does, the good, the bad and the ugly, what good is a guided online class? Every day someone says, “You don’t need to spend months studying something, just watch a 10 minute You Tube on it.” In my best Tim Robinson voice I’d have to ask, “Really"?”

I teach a class for Stanford Continuing Studies once a year or so calledExploring Graphic Novels, or something very much like that as we sometimes alter it slightly. And just before my last bought of teaching, I spent a lot of time asking myself, ‘What does it mean to teach, when so much information is online?’

It’s a question any good teacher has to ask themselves. I can take writing classes from ‘BEST SELLING’ authors. I can take drawing classes form ‘World Famous Artists!’ I can Google or Chat GPT anything and about 65% of the time get a fairly decent and true response. (That’s another much more concerning issue.)

In my class I start with one big idea - I teach what I’ve come to believe is the most important aspects of this subject. So right there, it’s not a CHAT GPT response, or a Google Search, it’s not crowd tested or stolen from a book. It’s a human POV, built from my experience, contemplation and subjectivity. And I let students know, “This is my approach, if you have questions about any of it, let me know.”

And second, the community of the class becomes very important. For many students there may not be anyone else in their life that cares that much about this subject. They may not have others around them who are interested in telling stories, and telling stories in this format. Finding a group who is obsessed with the subject you are interested in is worth more than any Google search.

The value of a group of people engaged and interested and working towards as goal on a particular subject inspires and cajoles the best out of you. And the class does the same for me. I come away inspired and engaged (and exhausted!) but it makes those weeks some of my favorite weeks of the year. (PS. This is NOT an advert for the class. At this time in April 2026, the next class has not yet been scheduled.)