day85 : knowledge is power!

"Scientia potentia est"

Sir Francis Bacon/Thomas Hobbes

This is a phrase that I remind myself often. 

My personal interpretation of this quote is a 'large picture' view.  

Of course one can interpret the quote from the perspective of eduction and 'book' smarts ... 

the more one learns the more opportunities one has.  

However I see this quote alluding to a much larger sense of 'knowledge', 

beyond the classroom and measured intelligence.  

I feel that this quote can be practiced in all areas of one's daily life.  

For me this quote refers to gathering more information, researching and learning about a subject, an issue, an decision, an opportunity and or problem!!  

For me this quote means: 

the more information one has the better decision making one can practice. 

And recently I have been saying it a lot, to myself and to your grandmother, so I figured it was a good one to share with you two. 

I find that I remind myself of this quote more often when I am tackling financial things, such as taxes, financial aid and especially during the divorce!!  I catch myself shying away from really figuring out my financial specifics, such as income, expenses, debts, etc.  I think there is a part of me that feels that if I don't really know the real figures then the reality of the figures won't be true?!?! 

That is one of those kind of crazy thoughts, because reality is reality and hiding one's head in the sand is NOT going to change ANYTHING.  

In fact it will have negative repercussions.

  

When I catch myself being sheepish about something,  I remind myself that  knowing the real situation and all the information that I can learn about that situation, will give me POWER!!

 & in this world baby, 

power is GOOD!!

And this practice applies to ALL areas of one's life, just not $$!! 

Also, it is important to remember that researching and learning about a situation is NOT making a decision.  This is what I am trying to help Gommie understand.  She is hesitating about interviewing and researching the possibility of more help for them because she thinks if she asks some questions that means someone will be living in their home next week, and that is not the case. 

So I wish to share with you this idea that learning, inquiring, researching things is a very good thing.  It will help you make better decisions and also help you not to second guess your decisions.

So , my dear-ones, go LEARN

go learn all you can!!

love, mom

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day :52 learn from your missteps ...

Don't be afraid to fail. 
Don't waste energy trying to cover up failure. 
Learn from your failures and 
go on to the next challenge. 
It's OK to fail. If you're not failing, you're not growing. 

Anne Sullivan

'mistakes are opportunities' was something that David Lang would like to tell his students, and he is correct.  If you don't get flattened by the idea that you didn't get something right or you got a bad grade or you failed,  if you don't get stuck is a cycle of self pity, self criticism or depression then you can use these experiences as just that, experiences!! Experiences from which to learn, grow and explore.

With the current attachment to success, and with all the standardized testing and the high emphasize on GPAs and grades, the path to real learning has become blurred.  If someone is choosing to not take a challenging class because it might hurt their GPA, then there is something significantly wrong about the system!!

Knowledge and learning should be the main goal, and if you are really learning, really growing then you better be goofing up and making mistakes. Learning is not a straight line, it is messy, it is unclear, it is making mistakes and learning from this.  And this is true for all of life, just not the classroom.

So when you stumble, don't fall down and stay down, don't waste your energy beating ourself up or trying to mask your mistake. Own your failures and learn from them!! What is important to me is that you learn and discover what really excites you and what doesn't.

It may seem safer to play it safe and stay within the lines,
but that is not where you will real live!
love, mom

day26: find the 'adventure' ...

Now that all the newness of the school year is settling down and routines are being formed, it is easy to start being more critical.  Sometimes something you thought would be exciting, like a class, turns out to be not what you wanted and the add/drop period is long gone.  But instead of sitting and stewing, reframe your expectations and find something that you can glean from the class.  It may not be what you intended but every experience is a learning experience.

I believe that as a culture/society/race?!?! we tend to focus on the negative.  Maybe it is a bounding behavior, commiserating on the bad experience, 'that was a waste of time', 'can you believe all the boring homework', 'that was the worst lecture', blah, blah blah.  

However, I find focusing on the negative is a waste of time and energy, so instead of brooding find something that you can take away from the situation, something that will capture your curiosity.  

Believe it or not, being in school is a blessing make the most of it.

love, mom

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may this dress help us to THINK!!!! and remind us the wonders of asking . . .

As my girls are in the throws of standardized testing & I am watching as any sense of curiosity or wonder is being strangled in their classrooms, I find this Tedtalks SO timely, pertinent and inspiring. ‪#‎TedTalkTuesday‬

'wisdom begins in wonder.' socrates

Learning is the new skill. 

Imagination, creation and 

asking new questions are at its core.

Sugata Mitra

In most schools, we measure children on what they know. By and large, they have to memorize the content of whatever test is coming up. Because measuring the results of rote learning is easy, rote prevails. What kids know is just not important in comparison with whether they can think.

Sugata Mitra

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