Have you every been reaching for something, either behind your seat in the car or under your bed or somewhere and you just can't get to it? It's there, you know it is. In some cases you can even see it. Perhaps the tips of your fingers even touch it. They might even brush it ever so slightly further away.
Why can't you get it?
I don't spend time on this question a lot of times. All I generally do is get frustrated that I cannot get it, and I don't care about the why of the matter. The reality is that "someone probably put it just out of my reach" or "this is just like my life that things are out of reach" or some other "woe is me" kind of thought is all that is on my mind. Then, while I'm reaching, a phone call will come with somebody needing something that I will not able to get them because it's probably out of reach too.
Now, I'm beginning to spend some time processing "why" things are out of reach. It could be my fault, you understand. It might not be, but it could be... and that's a sobering thought. This could also go one step more, because part of my job is to help others get things within their reach. If I can begin to understand the things in their life that keep them from reaching their stuff, perhaps I wouldn't get so frustrated at them for not getting their stuff. Kind of random, I understand, but the "whys" matter. They are not just there to give you an excuse for failure, but for you to process and potentially do all you can to change whatever is causing the failure.
I also have to realize that when it comes to helping others, there will be some who will not reach what they need to reach, and I cannot feel guilty that I have failed them. They have a choice to make. I have a choice, too. I chose to search out the ones who don't know, and then invest in the ones who care. I don't give up on the ones who don't care, but I will never be able to truly invest in them.
On a note that will perhaps discredit all that I have said in this post, I reveal that I keep in mind sometimes what Dennis Miller said about a guy who killed his family in one of those "'I'm shocked. He was always so quite.' from the neighbor" kind of moments. Dennis said, "You can't save everybody, just try not to be living next door to them when they go off."
3 comments:
The "why" is something I try to stress to my students all the time. Nothing you ever know, or do, matters if you can't say why. Especially in terms of emotions--yeah, you're angry, but why? That's the first step in solving a problem (or at least rationally addressing it).
And let's not forget belief systems: Why do you think unicorns grant wishes, Jimmy?
I had a professor once who wrote an article about the "that" of learning. His idea was that as important as it is for kids to remember what they've learned, it's even more crucial that they simply remember that they've learned something.
Not sure what that last part has to do with the topic at hand, but now you've got me thinking. Look for a similar post at heyitsjoe soon.
The interesting thing about the educational system is that most of it is simply determining if you are able to learn, not actually engaging you in learning. The exception to this is the medical field and perhaps one or two other fields of study. In the medical field, you HAVE to learn the stuff. However, in accounting, for example, you may learn concepts, but when you get to the accounting job, the firm/business will teach you how they do it. The degree tells them you can comprehend.
I realize that this can be argued because it is a generalization, but it is mostly true. (Now that's a weird phrase for someone who believes in absolutes... "mostly true") You're kids need to learn something, but they need to learn how to learn most importantly. Life is learning, and doesn't end in the classroom. With that said, I still think the critical part is this: (1) We must remember what we have learned; (2) More importantly, we must know "that" we have learned, thereby understanding how to replicate the process; (3) Most importantly, we must figure out how to apply what we have learned to learn.
The Universalist "Church" has as one of their slogans/mottos/propoganda things the statement, "To Question Is The Answer." I believe that the one who considers him/herself the "intellectual" but who never comes to a conclusion is simply engaged in an exercise in futility. The last part (I think) of the post was how frustrated I get at those who know it all but know nothing. I have to work on that one. I give up on people too easily. There, I said it. I got it out.
Unrelated... I like what you do. I like your job and your friends. Keep it up. And besides, Jimmy believes that unicorns grant wishes for one of two reasons: (1) A unicorn appeared to him and granted him wishes, or (2) He saw it on TV. Either one makes it true.
..Or Jimmy's mom/teacher/pastor/authority figure told him so. That's more often the case, I find. Ah, enlightenment. Why must it be so rare?
I agree with the learning to learn stuff. That's what being a liberal arts major is all about. And that's why I love being a liberal arts major.
The "To Question is the answer" slogan was mirrored in the Maryville College Humanities division mission statement. Yes, Socratic questioning is obnoxious and usually futile, but I think what the Unitarians and MC are trying to get at is that you have to ask yourself these questions. You can't trust your mom or TV or whoever like Jimmy did. Question WHY they say and believe those things, and when you learn it for yourself, it means so much more, and it makes such an impact. Like, your 3rd grade teacher could tell you over and over that basalt is an igneous rock, but unless you did a research paper/science project on igneous rocks, you're probably never going to remember it. That's what learning is all about. It's about empowerment. And that's why education will save the world. I'm convinced.
Post a Comment