What waiters know

If you have ever watched My Big Fat Greek Wedding and wondered ‘Are Greeks really this crazy?’. They are (I should know). Many Greeks indeed believe that all the words we use originally come from Greek, and consider themselves to be the most hospitable nation in the world. The former is clearly rubbish, but if you have ever been to a Greek restaurant, you probably agree with the latter. What's their secret sauce? Let my uncle Ilias, a restaurant owner, explain:

As a waiter, I am not solving a logistical problem. My job is not bringing food from the kitchen to the customer. We solved that issue a long time ago with buffets, self-service, and drive-throughs. My job is to make sure customers have a great time in my restaurant. I give them a warm welcome when they arrive, help them choose from the menu, tell them something interesting about Greek cuisine, do the check-the-wine-before-I-pour-a-full-glass thing, compliment them on their looks, crack jokes, and try and make them feel special.

I’ve recently been thinking a lot about what my uncle said. When I was asked to teach at a university for the first time, my initial instinct was to become a delivery man. Make slides and impress information onto people. Solve a logistical problem. But thanks to Ilias I realised that I no longer need to do that since the issue of knowledge transfer has been solved with PDFs, podcasts, and videos.

I realised my job shouldn't be about getting information to students, but rather about helping them learn it. So I spend a lot of time trying to spark students' curiosity, manage their attention, and motivate them not to give up. I strive to show them the beauty of the discipline, explain the usefulness of what we teach, and create a safe space to learn. I give feedback, facilitate discussions, and occasionally crack jokes.

To me, teaching is about creating an environment that empowers students to learn effectively. After all, the word 'teach' rhymes with 'beach', the environment Greece is most famous for. There you go.

Cover photo by Petr Sevcovic on Unsplash