I BELIEVE IN LEARNING
I believe in learning. I believe it’s never too late to start and it’s always too soon to stop. From finishing a GED to completing a graduate degree, it’s not too late to buckle down and become a student again. The personal value gained from completing a formal learning goal will last a lifetime.
I believe in informal learning. I’ve never totaled up how much money I’ve spent on yoga classes, music lessons or books that I have read for no good reason. Where else can I learn the basics of a skill that provides me relaxation or entertainment or have a once-in-lifetime mental experience provided by a talented author? Even though I’ll never be one of music’s greatest performers or know everything there is to know, informal learning has helped me meet new people who share a common interest, has raised my skill level from beginner to advanced beginner and has broadened my view of the world.
I believe in street-smart learning. It’s a useful skill to be able to tell the difference between a straight story and an embellished one, between the honest truth and a full-fledged but artful lie. It’s taken me a lifetime to realize that not everyone tells the truth; that some people look out only for themselves. Honing my street-smarts has helped me sort through issues that seem to be a tangled mix of fact and fiction. Street-smarts have helped me discern when care for self is really at the core of feigned care for others.
I believe in learning through the school of hard knocks. I have made many mistakes in my life. Dear family and friends have died; I have grieved. As a student in the school of hard knocks, I believe it’s important to learn from my mistakes and my grief. Because it’s often difficult to learn from my embarrassment or sadness, the school of hard knocks promotes in-your-face learning that is hard to refuse. It’s a callous person who does not eventually learn that each one of us can rise from a fall and that we all carry bits of a broken heart within us.
Yes, I believe in learning, Perhaps it’s the inveterate student within me wanting another try at that clean sheet of paper we all heard about in first grade. Whether in a classroom or the school of hard knocks, I’m ready for that next piece of paper.
Joan Marttila
