"What a thing it is!" (The Taming of the Shrew ~W. Shakespeare)
Way back to a time when you were young and the grass was soft beneath your summer calloused feet…
Butterflies darted, morning glories popped when you squeezed them, the tinkling of the ice cream truck brought explosions of joy through the neighborhood…
And you could spend hours watching the ants carry tidbits twice their size to their queen.
Fascinated, you listened while your grandpa talked about life on the North Dakota farm. Helping bake a cherry pie was something you really wanted to do, not just sing about. Escaping to your room after dinner to read the next chapter of Little House on the Prairie was a sweet indulgence.
And all of it was learning.
So when did that beautiful pastime become tedious? How did we make into something dull? Why did growing up mean losing our love of learning? And most importantly, how can we get it back?
I don’t have the answers and I lament the loss. I do, however, want your kids.
I want a chance to see eyes sparkle as they wait impatiently for the end of Achilles’ temper tantrum as he rejoins the battle to seek vengeance for his friend. I want to hear them exclaim “QED!” as they finish a geometry proof. I want them to know what it means when they cross the Rubicon.
Learning is tough business. It’s not necessarily for the faint of heart. But oh, what a thing it is!
If you need a tutor for your child, contact me: katya13@aol.com (references and resume available upon request)
On a side note, this is an important article on learning:
Dorothy Sayer's Lost Tools of Learning
