Learning

July 22, 2019

Greetings from the student,

Last year I intended to learn enough Spanish to get through basic interactions when visiting Colombia.  I chose an app, a free one, because I was involved but not committed, and set about spending a dedicated amount of time each day following the app’s direction to hable Espanol.  My enthusiasm and my naivete, got me through the first few weeks.  Then it felt like work.

No one who knows me will be surprised to find that my first response after landing in Columbia was to panic because I had no idea what anyone was saying, including myself.  And I was speaking English. 

Last week I was in a workshop and learned a valuable lesson, not the one being taught, but the one that kept me from learning.  Even in the moment I almost stumbled past it, but somehow managed to learn something despite myself.  Blinded by my experience, and somewhat ponderous ego, I was certain I knew what I knew, until thankfully I was shown what I needed to do to learn.  Apply humility first.

One of my favorite people is married to my daughter.  When Tim chose the last two jobs he took he said this: “It will be a great chance to learn new things.”  He says the same thing about rock climbing, cooking, playing guitar or competitive chess, and running ultramarathons.  Tim has a significant capacity for learning, but at the heart of it is curiosity and the willingness to take on the challenge of learning.  He has the will, the grit, he knows what learning demands, and he walks into that with open eyes.

My sister, my wife, many of my friends, are teachers.  Over the years I have seen what it takes to be a teacher for life.  They have told me about the process of learning, the science of teaching, and the connection of humans in that process to make it possible.  They have described the ‘teachable spirit’ what lifelong learners are like, what joy there is when a student lights up after finally embracing what is being taught.  It is a fascinating and important experience. Magical even.

So, I have some understanding of what is needed to learn but it doesn’t always help when the opportunity presents itself.  There is this adage: ‘When the student is ready the teacher will appear.’  I am stubborn, and as Claude Bernard said; ‘It is what we know already that often prevents us from learning.’  And the other thing is, when the teacher appears, sometimes they are the exact wrong person for me to learn the exact right lesson.

Most learning is done in friction.  A lot of learning is done from people we don’t agree with or perhaps even dislike.  This is another challenge for me.  My friends named Tom have both taught me a lot.  They are patient and kind and encouraging.  Both, I think, have gone away from our conversations wondering if I will ever learn anything, but they always come back willing to share their knowledge and wisdom, and honestly, I have benefitted greatly, I have learned from reflection on their words and their example.

But then there is this: some years ago, I attended a series of workshops on racism.  There was one man in the room who was so disruptive it seemed to ruin anyone’s chances of listening or learning or understanding.  I resented his presence there, a place I thought would be neutral and peaceful, where people could somehow find empathy and community.  The fact is, all these years later, it is what he brought to the room I remember most. 

Which led me to understand that often the teacher appears, and we look over their shoulder waiting for one we like better.  Our best learning is done with those who sharpen our blade with theirs. 

I see as I write this that most of this growing happens when we are uncomfortable. Sweating as the app demands that I remember a word.  Frustrated that the instructor puts unrealistic expectations on me.  Agonizing over a mistake I made, that finally, finally taught me not to put my hand on the hot stove. 

Knowing this, we should recognize that when things get challenging, even when we aren’t in ‘learning mode’, there is growth in front of us.   The writer Wendall Berry said: ‘It may be that when we no longer know what to do we have come to our real work, and that when we no longer know which way to go we have come to our real journey. The mind that is not baffled is not employed. The impeded stream is the one that sings.’

Learning in libraries and classrooms where ideas wait in order, but not always the order we expect. Learning in the streets where the ideas are growing wild, uncouth, surrounded by thorns. Learning from disagreeable strangers, where the lessons are bold and frightening.  Learning from kind friends.  In all of this, if we prepare ourselves with curiosity, arm ourselves with courage and the willingness to learn, and no small dose of humility, the world will grow before us.

When my friend Karen was diagnosed with the cancer that would end her life, she signed up for classes, began reading ambitious books, began teaching complex ideas to others.  Her love for learning was not driven for an outcome, she was not hoping for promotion or to impress others or to fill some bucket list.  She chose to learn because it fulfilled what she saw as her purpose, to know more of what our Creator put here for us to know.  She knew that whenever she learned, she moved closer to her best self, to what she had been designed for.  

It is always time; it is never too late.

Hope this finds you growing,

David

Copyright © 2019 David Smith