Back in the summer
between seventh and eighth grade, my mom, dad, little brother and I traveled
out west to the Bad Lands, and further west to Yellowstone National Park and
then north to Glacier National Park. We
had a Winnebago travel trailer we hitched up to the car and alternated camping
with spending some nights in motels because my mom didn’t care for camping. It was a great trip. Saw a lot.
Learned a lot.
At Yellowstone,
one of the stops was Old Faithful where I learned it wasn’t as faithful as its
name. It went off on an irregular pattern,
so I guess because it did spout off irregularly, it was rather faithful. Perhaps a better name might have been Old
Mostly Faithful or Old Kinda Irregularly Faithful. I became curious as to why it spouted in the
first place, so my dad and I purchased some pamphlets and books and talked to
the park rangers.
The following
fall, the seventh and eighth grade science classes at my school competed in a
science fair and for it, my dad and I recreated Old Faithful using a coffee pot. It was a pretty cool design and thankfully,
my dad was a designing engineer so he helped me with some of the mechanical
parts of it. Mostly I did the project
with his guidance. It was great working
with him and I think he had as much fun as I did.
Looking back at it
and at other events in my life, I think one of the greatest gifts my parents
gave me was a Love Of Learning. Kind of
a curiosity of why and how and who. I’ve
been fortunate to have carried that passion with me throughout life and I work
to satisfy that “itch” whenever I get the opportunity.
Love Of
Learning. The curiosity of why and how
and who.
I think that as
parents, as adults, and as educators, one of the greatest gifts we can give to
kids is the Love Of Learning. The gift
of wonder about the world in which they live and love and play. The curiosity of why things take place, of
how things work or don’t, and of who- lots to learn about who.
It is more than
the memorization of facts, although at times, the memorization of facts can be
important. But isn’t it better to manipulate those facts into constructs, and
work those constructs into problems to solve?
Isn’t it more important to question a belief and perhaps learn that the
belief that had been held was faulty?
An example is an
activity that takes place in two classes- AP English Language. In one activity, students are given a passage
to read. After reading the passage, one
activity would be to decide individually, then as a group, which of the
multiple choice questions was true, and perhaps, more true. Students have to rationalize. They have to convince their classmates that
their argument, their answer is better than one held by someone else. They listen respectfully, and then they discuss
and argue thoughtfully. Only after
decisions have been made does the teacher get involved and give what was the
right answer and at that point, students might still discuss and argue their
point of view.
My daughter in
college takes a basic math class in preparation for teaching at the elementary
level. For her tests, not only does she
have to answer the problem correctly, but she then has to write a narrative of
how she arrived at the answer and give a step by step explanation of how she
might teach that problem to her students.
Love Of Learning,
Of Life.
As adults and as
teachers, we can give our children the answers.
We can construct tests and have our kids answer them and move through
them fairly thoughtlessly. And after the
test, the information is forgotten because it didn’t have any meaning beyond
that test. Or, we can have them do
activities that push and pull on their thinking, move their heart and hands as
well as their head.
It’s sort of like
parents telling one of their kids to do something and when the kid asks, “Why?”
the parent says, “Because I said so!”
The child might acquiesce to the demand.
The child might follow the rule.
But other than that the adult is the boss, what has the child learned or
gained?
I contend that by providing
meaningful activities and problems of life to children, not only do we teach
them a Love Of Learning, we also teach them a Love Of Life. Because in order to live, truly live, we-
each of us, young and old alike- have to ask why and how and who. We have to seek answers, not only the right
and correct answers, but answers that can be equally right and correct and fit
us as individuals. And that ain’t easy! But in the end, it is as rewarding for the
parent, the adult and the teacher as it is for the child. Something to think about . . .
Live Your Life,
and Make A Difference!
To My Readers:
Thanks for
checking out and following my blog. I
appreciate it and hope you find it thought-provoking and meaningful. I have to admit that among my many posts, I
have favorites, and I hope you do also.
Please feel free to share them with your friends and family, and point
them in my direction.
Also, thank you
for taking the time to check out my two works of fiction, Taking Lives and Stolen
Lives. Because they are thriller
fiction, they are very different from my blog, but to me, equally satisfying
and while disturbing, I hope they are thought-provoking for you in a scary sort
of way because being in education for 38 years, I have made a daily commitment
of trying to educate kids and keep them safe.
There have been
several positive reviews of Taking Lives:
“This is one book that will stay in your mind long after you've finished
reading it.” and “This book keeps the readers intrigued. The characters seem so
real, Can't wait for the next one to come out.”
It can be found at: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MG2JAWE?ie=UTF8&at=aw-android-pc-us-20&force-full-site=1&ref_=aw_bottom_links
There have been
several positive reviews of Stolen Lives:
“Joseph Lewis has created a cast of characters that you grow to care about.
Their story is filled with twists and turns that keep you reading. When the
book ends you will be left anticipating the next one! This was a story I could
not put down!” and “I am really glad I happened to see this Trilogy while
looking through my Kindle unlimited series. Great strong characters, especially
George and Brett. Looking forward to reading more from this author.” It can be found at: http://www.amazon.com/Stolen-Lives-Trilogy-Book-ebook/dp/B00PKKN6W4/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1415908221&sr=1-1&keywords=Stolen+Lives%2C+Joseph+Lewis