“Knowledge is of two kinds, that of which you already know, and knowing where to find what you don’t know” – Ms Kowalski, my 8th grade Spanish teacher. She said, “If you learn nothing else from this class, learn this.” She was right. I don’t recall much from her class, but what I learned was more valuable than any textbook could teach.
I know many of us are asked to be teachers right now, and perhaps we’re rocking it, or perhaps we think we are falling short. If you’re in the latter boat, I ask that you give yourself some grace and mercy. Remember that knowledge and wisdom are two different things.
Where knowledge comes from books, wisdom, on the other hand, comes from experience. We have this great opportunity to let our children experience life WITH us. Can’t get off a conference call to help teach your kiddo geometry? No problem, teach them patience to wait until you have time. Teach them the art of independent research. Teach them to use their resources.
Or don’t! Let them play in the mud or paint or build a robot. Do what works for you. I don’t know it all. Because at the end of this, all our kiddos are going to have learned different things. And they are not going to remember a thing about what you said or did, but they will remember how you made them feel (tipping my hat to Maya Angelo there).
I am still working through this myself. For instance, today my best friend was complaining about something, and my response was very Shanda like: “Look at it through this lens and you’re doing great!” Only later to learn that what she really needed in that moment was not a cheerleader, but an empathizer. She needed someone who could sit with her and look through her lens, not mine, and say, yeah, that really sucks.
So in the beginning of the conversation I thought I knew something. I learned I didn’t. I looked somewhere else to get the info (my friend). I learned more than books could teach me. And that’s called Wisdom. I’m learning. Every. Day. My experiences are different from yours. Deep down, I know I write publicly because I hope you learn something from my experiences. The reality is, I probably picked up something I’ve learned from you.
MintROI 