The Art of Learning: An Inner Journey to Optimal Performance

Josh Waitzkin, the inspiration for the movie Searching for Bobby Fischer, is no stranger to creating change in his life. Through various life events ranging from when he won his first National Chess Championship at age 8 to becoming the Tai Chi Chuan Push Hands Middleweight U.S. Champion, he has learned not only how to maintain balance in his life, but also how to realize what needs to change in order to be successful. In his autobiography The Art of Learning, Waitzkin discusses some of his life lessons that he learned from mentors in the two opposite environments of competitive chess and Tai Chi – lessons that can be applied in a multitude of areas, including life in general and, specifically, educational settings. By keeping what Waitzkin discusses in mind, teachers and educators can facilitate change and improvement in their classrooms, in their own lives, and in their students’ lives and learning.The Art of Learning is divided into three sections in which Waitzkin describes his learning, meaning that there are three areas of discussion from which educators can draw inspiration for facilitating change in a classroom. First, in “The Foundation,” Waitzkin describes his rise to fame in the competitive chess scene, delving into his experiences and interactions with chess Grandmasters Bruce Pandolfini, Mark Dvoretsky, and Yuri Razuvaev, as well as the lessons he learned from working with each of them. In the second section, “My Second Art,” Waitzkin moves away from chess and talks about his work and participation in Tai Chi, and how he progressed from a student to a master of the Push Hands discipline of the martial art. In the final section, titled “Bringing It All Together,” Waitzkin goes into more detail about the similarities of preparation and execution between chess and Tai Chi, and how he applies what he learned in one to the other. I found that, while reading each of these sections, each chapter within a section had its own theme and lesson, most of which I feel can be included in a classroom setting.In the book’s introduction, Waitzkin establishes his overarching theme of “I am best at the art of learning” by opening with descriptions of his attendance at the Tai Chi Push Hands championship in 2004. He reminisces on his life at the time that Searching for Bobby Fischer was in theaters, saying that he could not walk down the street without people asking him to “autograph their stomachs or legs.” He then says that this newfound fame was not truly helping him achieve happiness, nor was it aiding him in his “search for excellence.” After this experience, Waitzkin enrolled in Tai Chi classes under Grandmaster William C. C. Chen, whose classes encouraged meditation, reflection, and realizing that “the mind needed little physical action to have great physical effect.” Once he used what he learned in Tai Chi to make connections to his chess career, his life “became flooded with intense learning experiences,” ranging from watching water crash onto a shore to using basketball to work on Tai Chi mechanics. Ultimately, Waitzkin began to think about how he transferred his knowledge of chess to Tai Chi, and how this question became the central focus of his life. Waitzkin concludes with his primary theme of this book, which is that he is “best at the art of learning.” As soon as I read the introduction, I immediately began to think about what he could possibly mean by the art of learning. How is learning an art? Can someone “get better” at learning? How can I (or other educators) use what Waitzkin says to incorporate change and improvement with students? In the three sections I described earlier, Waitzkin goes into more detail and provides different techniques and suggestions that support both his main idea and facilitating change in classrooms.One idea that I found particularly helpful and applicable to a classroom setting is one that Waitzkin talks about in the first chapter. In this chapter, Waitzkin meets Bruce Pandolfini, a chess Grandmaster that eventually becomes his mentor and teacher. Waitzkin says that one of the most important aspects about Pandolfini was his educational philosophy, which focused on discussion rather than lecture. Whenever Waitzkin would make a mistake, Pandolfini would ask him his thought process and how he reached that conclusion. Actually, Pandolfini would ask Waitzkin his thought process on nearly every facet of his chess game, encouraging him to think about his own actions as well as finding different paths to reach the same conclusion. By doing so, Waitzkin was able to develop a deeper love and understanding of chess. Pandolfini’s philosophy aligns with my own values in regards to teaching. I am a firm believer in discussion and collaboration when working with students, and Pandolfini took this approach when working with Waitzkin. In my own educational experience, a majority of my classes were heavily lecture based, where discussion was not necessarily discouraged, but was not as prominent as I would have liked. In an educational setting, focusing on collaboration and discussion (as Waitzkin and Pandolfini did) will hopefully encourage students to want to learn and help them develop a deeper understanding of their subject area.An additional point of interest for me (which Waitzkin called investment in loss) was in the second section of the book during Waitzkin’s Tai Chi classes. In simplest terms, Waitzkin describes investment in loss as “giving yourself to the learning process.” In other words, learning comes by resisting old habits and accepting new ones, as well as not being afraid to make mistakes. In Waitzkin’s case, he began to focus exclusively on training, and was eventually was able to exploit other beginners’ habits in his classes. Because he ignored old behaviors, he was able to rapidly progress – he did not let his ego affect his learning. From an educational standpoint, this mentality is perfect for facilitating change in student attitudes. At the beginning of a school year, a teacher establishes an environment that will be set for the class. Depending on what the teacher says and how he or she presents it, students may not feel comfortable learning new methods for solving problems, may be afraid of making a mistake for fear of embarrassment from their peers, or be inclined to let their egos affect their learning. If a teacher exemplifies the mentality of investment in loss at the beginning of the year, the students will hopefully model this behavior, as well. To do so, the teacher can explain that making mistakes is acceptable (in fact, making mistakes is how we learn!), as well as being open to ideas that students have in order to show that new ideas help the learning process. By demonstrating investment in loss, students will hopefully make rapid progress as Waitzkin did with Tai Chi.A final takeaway I found in this book is when Waitzkin mentions “building your trigger” in the third section of the book. In this chapter, the primary focus is… well… focus! Waitzkin talks about focus in terms of important competitions, and “keeping cool” under pressure. He says that when thinking about high-stakes, high-stress times, it is important to avoid giving attention to the moment that “decides your destiny.” If this occurs, then stress, tension, and over-excitement are bound to be present, which will undoubtedly affect performance. To counter these feelings, Waitzkin suggests keeping healthy patterns in day-to-day life so that, when the time comes, everything feels natural. While Waitzkin is talking about Tai Chi in this particular passage, this outlook on focus and attention can also be applied in an educational setting. When I read this passage, I thought of students taking a test. Most likely, students will be nervous or tense about a test for a variety of reasons, meaning the nervousness can take over and affect their performance. If teachers and educators take Waitzkin’s approach, they can begin helping students by incorporating methods in their classrooms that make test taking feel “normal.” For instance, a teacher for an AP Calculus class can create tests with questions based on those found on actual AP tests. In doing so, when the AP test rolls around, the students will already feel like the questions are “normal” because they have grown accustomed to them in class. As a result, students will not be distracted by nerves and will be able to focus on the task at hand, which parallels what Waitzkin says about Tai Chi.As I read The Art of Learning, I thoroughly enjoyed how the book was written as a whole. By this, I mean that I could sit down, open up to any chapter I wanted, and discover a brand new theme different from any other chapter. Even though each of the three sections of the book were devoted to either chess, Tai Chi, or both combined (respectively), I felt that I did not need to read each chapter in the proper order to understand Waitzkin’s messages and lessons. It felt like a season of television’s Scrubs: I can jump into any episode of the season and not feel lost, but I can pick up on the story halfway through. Each chapter was relatively short, but had some themes that made me question both how I live my own life and how I will teach in the future. I also enjoyed the fact that Waitzkin has a desire for learning and improving anything he tries. In an educational setting, this is a perfect attitude to have – everyone is allowed to make mistakes (except on a test!), everyone is encouraged to explore and learn through discovery, and assessments help both teachers and students improve their educational experience.Even though this book was not written by an educator, per say, The Art of Learning has an incredible amount of inspiring material that can be applied to an educational setting. Waitzkin says in his Afterword, “mastery involves discovering the most resonant information and integrating it so deeply and fully it disappears and allows us to fly free.” By taking what Josh Waitzkin includes in his book and incorporating his messages into a classroom, educators will not only encourage students to think about their thinking (as Waitzkin did in his interactions with Pandolfini), but also how to become better learners and students. This book is an incredible read, resource, and guide for facilitating change in a classroom and life.

There are some serious flaws with the book and some good points a customer should consider before buying:The most serious flaw is the somewhat misleading title. The author surprisingly doesn't give a lot of clear pointers on how to learn. If anyone is qualified to teach learning, it's Mr. Waitzkin. And he's fairly personable, so he should be able to communicate advice better than he does in this book. The real advice he gives could definitely could be clarified and condensed. I hope the author has identified this weakness and is working on it - I suspect he has given that he's in that arena now.The second most nagging flaw is the vindictive tone that keeps recurring. He really gets harsh digs in and he names names. The story of his chess youth rehashes a lot of the one dimensional villain characters from the movie SFBF which I'd hoped were simply an insensitive plot device. A famous and respected chess instructor is also trashed on both a personal and professional level. I found a dig at an old philosophy professor nasty - accusing him of 'narcissistic academic literalism' when he questioned the author's cherished sacred cow 'intuition'. But that's what philosophy professors do since Wittgenstein - it's their job to help clarify vague language! The author should have recognized this challenge as legitimate and non-trivial.Which brings to mind the last major flaw: the storytelling itself is relatively narcissistic. Without intending to do so, the author in very florid detail promotes himself as deep and artistic. He also seems very eager to spin competitive problems he has experienced, and this reader was left with the impression that he is so tormented by some past defeats that he can't accept them as just that and nothing more.The main strength of the book is that it does give some useful advice! He gives tips such as focusing on simple skills rather than fancy ones, how to make injuries and setbacks as opportunities, how to get in a zone, how to be resilient, etc. I take him at his word since he clearly would have excelled in any competitive endeavor that caught his imagination. And the book was a pretty fun read. Despite my rough criticisms above, I find the author quite likeable. We all have our faults, and he's a good guy who really has the potential to help a lot of people if he can work on mastering this new art.I'm glad I bought it and it's worth reading if you are involved in competitive endeavors that require determination. There is some real food for thought, and that's why I give it 4 stars despite all my reservations - you only need to learn one or two useful tips to make it worth the money! I'm not sure he ever succeeds in demonstrating that he simply isn't talented. Many of us have great willpower, intuition, and creativity. But practice as we may, we don't rise to the top of the pack. I consider him a demonstrated master of two fields who needs to work more yet on the art of teaching.