Mistakes
I woke up early today, around 6:30 am. Rolling out of bed and reading Proverbs sounded good, so that's what I did. Of course, not the whole book of Proverbs mind you, just one chapter; chapter 18. After that, breakfast sounded good...
I'm sitting in the Mercer computer lab right now, typing on (gasp) a PC with a keyboard older than me. But, I decided to blog nonetheless.
I've been thinking lately about the differences between learning as a child and learning as an adult. As a child, learning was never tainted with the worry that I wouldn't make the grade. I was never pressured with quizzes or grades or tests or papers. I'm not saying I didn't have tests or papers, I'm saying I didn't associate them with my value: with who I was. School was just school, and learning was free.
Surprisingly, state tests are one of my fondest memories of my childhood academics. I remember going to this big building where they would hold ISAT testing. Was it a library? I enjoyed the crowd and the fact that all the other people taking the test were kids just like me. Little did I realize just how diverse people are. But it comforted me to know that they were on this adventure too.
When's the last time you thought of a challenge as an adventure? A test as a canyon to be jumped over? A grade as a journey to be taken? Well, I can say that I haven't thought of a test that way since middle school, and I miss it.
As a child, mistakes are supported, encouraged even, as an inevitable step in the learning process. Why is it now, as an adult, that I am expected by others (and myself) to learn without mistakes? The trial and error method is no longer a viable option for the intelligent and self-righteous adult. That's one reason I fear learning; it's not okay to fail anymore. Kids can color outside of the lines, get the wrong answer on the math test, and put the wrong chemicals in the mixture. It's expected of them to mess up because they've never done it before. Kids also have this natural ability to enjoy the things they do wrong AND the things they do right. Coloring outside the lines is an incredible freedom, but coloring inside the lines adds new challenge and depth to the picture. Spelling the word wrong is a minor detail, but mastering communication adds understanding and richness to the story.
As Paul says in 1 Corinthains 13, "When I was a child, I thought like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me." Overall, growing up is a good thing. It becomes a bad thing when we decide everything we did as a child needs to be put behind us. The tenacity to try, to fail, and to enjoy life anyway is something I put behind me somehow in the transition from child to adult. I'm trying to bring back my childlike wonder and confidence and bravery. I want to climb the trees of life just for the fun of it, not care about what the next meal is, and stop taking the lazy way out.
I'm sitting in the Mercer computer lab right now, typing on (gasp) a PC with a keyboard older than me. But, I decided to blog nonetheless.
I've been thinking lately about the differences between learning as a child and learning as an adult. As a child, learning was never tainted with the worry that I wouldn't make the grade. I was never pressured with quizzes or grades or tests or papers. I'm not saying I didn't have tests or papers, I'm saying I didn't associate them with my value: with who I was. School was just school, and learning was free.
Surprisingly, state tests are one of my fondest memories of my childhood academics. I remember going to this big building where they would hold ISAT testing. Was it a library? I enjoyed the crowd and the fact that all the other people taking the test were kids just like me. Little did I realize just how diverse people are. But it comforted me to know that they were on this adventure too.
When's the last time you thought of a challenge as an adventure? A test as a canyon to be jumped over? A grade as a journey to be taken? Well, I can say that I haven't thought of a test that way since middle school, and I miss it.
As a child, mistakes are supported, encouraged even, as an inevitable step in the learning process. Why is it now, as an adult, that I am expected by others (and myself) to learn without mistakes? The trial and error method is no longer a viable option for the intelligent and self-righteous adult. That's one reason I fear learning; it's not okay to fail anymore. Kids can color outside of the lines, get the wrong answer on the math test, and put the wrong chemicals in the mixture. It's expected of them to mess up because they've never done it before. Kids also have this natural ability to enjoy the things they do wrong AND the things they do right. Coloring outside the lines is an incredible freedom, but coloring inside the lines adds new challenge and depth to the picture. Spelling the word wrong is a minor detail, but mastering communication adds understanding and richness to the story.
As Paul says in 1 Corinthains 13, "When I was a child, I thought like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me." Overall, growing up is a good thing. It becomes a bad thing when we decide everything we did as a child needs to be put behind us. The tenacity to try, to fail, and to enjoy life anyway is something I put behind me somehow in the transition from child to adult. I'm trying to bring back my childlike wonder and confidence and bravery. I want to climb the trees of life just for the fun of it, not care about what the next meal is, and stop taking the lazy way out.
"Then some children were brought to Jesus so that He might lay His
hands on them and pray; and the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said, 'let the
children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of
Heaven belongs to such as these.'" -Mat. 19:13-14
Very nice. And then there's the "childlike faith" that would be nice to recapture . . .
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