Category: Education

Projects: Concrete Learning

I’ve been realizing anew the importance of learning through projects. There’s something about creating a physical representation of a new concept that concretes the information in your brain.

I’m not sure when humanity decided that information in the abstract is the most important part of survival. Slowly we are falling away from the practical application of knowledge; quickly we are approaching the day when no one knows how to apply what they have learned.

Knowledge is obsolete without wisdom to apply it. What better way to put information to use than a hands-on application? Continue reading Projects: Concrete Learning

Worst Work Fail?

While working for a dog breeder, I faced one of the biggest possible fails I could have ever imagined.

Princess was a poodle we had just bought. I had been earning her trust, spending time with her every chance I had.

This was the day I decided to let her run loose for the first time. The country property was around 3 acres. But on the north side of those 3 acres ran the county highway. I knew Princess was headstrong, and I didn’t want to risk her running onto the highway. So up until this day, we had taken walks on a leash.

The poodle did just fine, until I called her to come to me. Then I saw the look: that fiery glance of denial, recognizable in every strong-willed character. Princess turned and ran straight for the highway.

“No, Princess!” I screamed in my mind. But my voice managed to remain calm as I softly called her.

She turned, and like a spoiled, haughty heir to the throne, she pranced onward toward her doom.

I watched the scene happen in my mind, before the catastrophe actually struck. I couldn’t run; Princess was a hundred yards ahead of me and determined that she would not be managed. And she ran out onto the road like an idiot.

That very moment, a small car sped down the road into the dog. Princess was gone in an instant. But I stood there, thunderstruck. I couldn’t get the sights and sounds out of my head: that thud of the car hitting her little body, then watching her roll on the road and lie still.

Not only was I emotionally traumatized because of seeing an animal I loved die; I felt awful because I knew she was a $600 dog. Besides, her worth to my boss was much more, as each of her potential pups would sell for at least $400 apiece. I was in charge of a huge loss for this small business.

So I slowly trudged my 13 year old self out to the road with a shovel.  Not going to lie: I leaned on the shovel and cried. Thankfully a friend of our saw me and stopped to help me take poor Princess off the road.

My boss had watched the whole situation through the window. She understood that I had done everything I possibly could. That made the whole situation easier to bear. The battle was in my own mind.

I had faced the worst thing that could happen in the job that I was holding. But through this experience I gained an incredible mindset.

Even the worst possible scenario can’t take you down. Not unless you allow it to control you. I got up the next morning and loved those dogs with all my heart. I worked as hard as I could to make up for the loss. And greater than everything, I determined never to stop growing. Even if it means running into the biggest work fail ever.

 

Bored? Try Something New

There’s a magic involved with stepping out on a limb. The risk of attempting something previously uncharted makes a wonderful pathway in a  human’s brain. Personally, I have found that learning something completely different from anything I have ever pursued before spurs my creativity more than anything else could.

We were made to do some things on impulse. So look up that question you had, right away. Write down the ideas that fly into your brain. Learn something new.

Today, pursue something different; learn a fact you never had known before; experience life a new way. You’d be surprised to realize what kind of perspective it will give you! Who knows: you’re probably one idea away from changing the world!

Learning By Teaching: The Cycle of Education

Being raised in a large family, I am accustomed to the constant fuel of creativity, the continual exchange of new ideas. There is always a new project to compete in. The next breakthrough research is always just around the corner. The learning process never stops.

There is a key concept that naturally comes to life in a family of vast age differences: the best way to ingrain any piece of knowledge into your head is to pass on that information to another individual.

For hundreds of years, this was an expected cycle of learning. One learnt the information, reviewed it, formed his opinion of it, debated it, and taught another what he knew. (Socratic dialogue, anybody?)

It has only been in recent years that we have lost the concept of the cycle of learning. Teaching is reserved only for those who are so-called “experts” in a field. Everyone else keeps quiet and lets the experts do their thing, successfully cutting off the life of education by smothering conversation.

How would humanity change if each individual recognized the benefits of using the knowledge he has, no matter how small, to impact other people?

What if you sat down and wrote a short essay on every new concept you gained? Or if you found one person every day to question about an idea you have about the world? What if the cycle of learning could be refueled by those who are passionate about true education?

I challenge you: Teach someone something today. Build relationships. Pass on information. Create dialogue and healthy conversation. Encourage questions. Explore. Create. And watch the world begin to flourish around you. Life can only be complete when education flows through its intended cycle.