On the Art of Learning

I recently saw a quote - ‘I don’t homeschool so my child can successfully do tests, I homeschool so my child can do life successfully.’

How easy it is for us to believe that education can only be acquired by having information shoved into us 6-8 hours a day in an institutional setting. Given modern technology and how information is instantly available to anyone with a cell phone, the long standard systemized method of imparting knowledge is almost obsolete. 

Learning how to learn is as important a life skill as the sum of accumulated knowledge. Learning how to use available resources and instantly find an answer to a question that then is added onto one’s body of knowledge, is the best definition of education. 

I get it, we are all wonderfully and beautifully made by our Creator. Some learn best in a controlled environment, some learn better in a more relaxed format.

What is so grand about having the option of being able to learn in the way one learns best, is that, at the end of the process, one has actually learned.

Isn’t that the point?

Congratulations to Keaton! Huge milestone. 

For Him, 

Meema

Contrast

Cleaning out a closet I found an old T-shirt. I have no idea where it came from but it had an interesting, supposed to be funny, quote - “Hog breath is better than no breath.” 

Funny, yes, but soberingly true, and started me off on another I-was-just-thinking rabbit trail. 

Skipping to the conclusion of several days seeking and sorting out the point - anything and everything can only be measured, defined and/or perceived by some kind of contrast.

In my musings I had a flashback to a recent funny exchange with one of my grandsons - a twelve year old brainiac who is surely destined to be a star of some future debate team. He can argue either side of an issue with fine-tuned persuasive skills. I had picked him up from school and though it was early December, it was a typical Georgia early winter sunny, short-sleeve day. He said, “Man, I would love it if the weather could be like this all the time.” 

I couldn’t help myself. I tossed out a challenge. I replied, “Well, if that were a reality, you wouldn’t appreciate this kind of weather very long because you wouldn’t have the hot hot/ cold cold days for contrast. He immediately took the opposing side and proceeded to explain how much and why he would love continuously perfect weather. I countered that all things that humans experience can only be truly appreciated when there is something better or worse to compare it to.

I think he knew I was right but he is not one to stand down from a position he has dug into. As I dropped him off, we agreed to disagree.

In my defense, in the short ride home, I didn’t have enough time to adequately defend my position. I couldn’t bring up a lifetime of experience, beginning with my first dabbling with learning the science of art and that the only way we can see anything clearly is when it is up against something lighter or darker thus a white line painted on a white canvas disappears. 

Human nature is pretty predictable. We quickly become complacent and take things for granted when there are no obstacles in our path. When things are going our way, no trials or tribulations hindering our forward progress, we typically and often forget to stop and acknowledge our good fortune and take time to just be grateful. 

The old saying, “there but for the grace of God, go I” is easily forgotten when we are floating blissfully above troubles.

If I ever have a chance to bring up this topic with my grandson again I will point out that those cold rainy days we had recently sure made it all the better when the sun came back. And what about those rainy days we finally had after months of endless dry heat? 

See what I did there? 

For Him,

Meema

That Thing About Christmas

He asked me what Christmas was like when I was a kid. I had to pause and edit the plethora of possible answers into a brief summary. 

After a moment I told my grandson that, first and foremost, I recalled that Christmas was much simpler in the fifties. No one even spoke of the coming season until after Thanksgiving. There were no decorations in the stores or on the streets until about mid-December. But of course that was before The Great Force of Commerce had taken the helm and steered the ship into a new direction.

We discussed ever morphing societal change and how things evolve and often at the center of great change is economic in nature.

Later, after our home schooling for the day was done, I sat and reflected on our discussion. So many Christmases in my history of 72 years. Almost recallable as though reading a book - each era of my life recounted as though in a separate chapter. Good years, not so good years, prosperous years, lean and sometimes frighteningly difficult years. I’ve seen them all. I’ve lived them all. Traditions begun and then softly abandoned over time to be replaced by others as children grew up and brought home new additions to the tribe. 

As I reminisced, trying to recall all the best years, I discovered that my most vivid memories were of those when times were tough and I was forced to soldier on to make the holiday as good as possible for the ones I loved. Thus, all the best Christmases are swirled together into a single sparkling blur, like a galaxy far away. I’d be hard pressed to identify a specific year or moment that stood out. Conversely I can recite the details of all the times I had to simply make it work and smile as though nothing was wrong. 

In summary, I told my grandson that Christmas comes anyway, no matter what is going on in your life. Just like the residents of Whoville, upon waking to the destruction the Grinch had committed, they gathered around in the town square and sang praises to the One they celebrated on that day.

That true thing about Christmas is that it can never be taken over by any commercialization. It stands alone, with no need for any human decorating or dressing up. It comes even if you are  sitting in a trench on a battlefield. 

Because…

Christmas isn’t about traditions or customs. Christmas is about Christ. That He came, as a babe in the lowliest of circumstances. That He is our gift, our reason for standing in spite of the noticeable great growing opposition to the faith and reason for the season. 

But regardless, just as you can pray anywhere, and no one can stop you, Christmas is something you can celebrate in your heart 24/7/365.

Merry Christmas! No matter what your circumstances this year, may your hearts be light and grateful. 

For Him,

Meema