“To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.” Eccelesiates 3:1

The passage goes on to speak of a time of birth, death, love, hate and laughter and dance. Yet it doesn’t speak of a time to wonder. I wonder why?

To take time to wonder is something I needed to be reminded of as I was one Memorial Weeend. Marie, my wife and I brought our two grandsons Brandon age four and Brian age two to visit my mother. The whole weekend was like being a counselor at summer camp.

One morning, Brandon and Brian and I took a walk. It was sometimes hand and hand and other times running and wandering. We stopped and looked both ways before crossing the street. We listened to the birds. We stepped over and on the bugs, oops. While crossing one street recently paved, Brian, the youngest stopped me.

“WOW! COOL!” he declared as he began to walk and dance around the tar swirls in the street.

My adult mind wanted to hurry up and finish the walk. I had more important things to do, don’t you know. Then, I realized Brian saw something I didn’t. I decided to see it too. Brian, Brandon and I walked the swirls. I saw different patterns. I thought of the paving equipement used to pave the street. I could smell the tar.

Taking time to wonder still is something I need to be reminded to do. Then, I can see and enjoy the WOW! and COOL! of the moment.

How can you be attentive to the wonder in your life?

What simple ways can you capture and celebrate the wonder?

Who can you share the wonder with?

Take time to wonder. It’s worth the wonder.

Henry David Thoreau said, “trust no thought you get sitting down.” Was he referring to the traditional classroom? Years ago, I attended a retreat with all the 6th grade teachers in our middle school. We were asked what is needed to improve the education of our students. The answers depended on the subjects taught. The math and science people wanted more computers, the English and reading people wanted newer books.  “Get rid of the desks,” was my suggestion. “Those desks are not conducive to learning. Have you ever tried siting in one? The only ones that benefit are the desk manufacturers. What a sweet deal with the school district that must be.” Unfortunately no one agreed or disagreed.

Imagine a learning environment without desks! But how would the students learn? My plan is simple – have them sit on the floor, stand up, move around. We could have a learning lab that is literally hands on. Relax, we could have simple stools, sofas, and even recliners when we needed to sit.

Most of our early learning was done outdoors: making mud pies, picking up leaves, catching fireflies and butterflies, running, oh yes, the running!  As we grew older, some of our best and lasting learning happened in extracurricular activites like sports, clubs, school newspaper,etc. Norm Katz, Little League baseball coach taught us  what it means to be a member of a team and play as a team. Mrs. Riordan’s  rock club in 5th grade taught me more about science than her science class.

Instead of shouting to students, “sit still, don’t move, be quiet” we need to free them and ourselves to learn by standing up, moving around and making noise. That way no one would ever be sent to the hall for talking too much. We’d all be guilty.

While you learn:

STAND UP!

MORE AROUND!

MAKE NOISE!

“Trust any thought you get while moving around.”

I say yeah! As I have quoted Albert Einstein before ” “What if we change the yardstick?”. Personally, I have never been very good at standardized tests. I took the GRE for grad school and did okay. Thanks to a Cleveland State University professor who knew me and my capabilities I got into the program. For sure, the GRE was no predicator of my successfully completing my M.S. in Public Administration with a 3.8 GPA.

How do we measure ourselves and one another?  The Bible says “man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).  An assistant high school principal told my brother Tobey, “guys like you and your brother end up in the gutter.”  He sure didn’t know our heart. Tobey got a masters degree in Public Administration, worked for the city of Long Beach, then as a technical writer and finally as an elementary school teacher.  

The outward measurement and high GPA didn’t accurately predict the future success of one young lady at Cal State Long Beach. This student was literally a 4.0 in every subject including her accounting major. “I am nervous about taking the CPA exam,” she said to me. I’m thinking, huh? Here is this bright, attractive young lady who will soon start a job with a major CPA firm in downtown Los Angeles worried about taking another test. “You have a 4.0 in all your subjects. What are you worried about?” I asked. “Oh, I only studied to pass the tests,” she said.

While she learned how to take tests, I  had learned how to learn.  Book smart doesn’t mean life smart.

I told Ashley why every day is a gift to me. Many years ago, I got in an industrial accident and lost four toes on my left foot. Also, over the past 20 years, I’ve had three major car accidents. Seat belts saved my life in two of them. Then, 4 years ago, I had a severe reaction to food poisoning. That many brushes with death reminds me that I am alive because God still wants me here. 

Later, as I was leaving, I gave Ashley and her co-worker Mary a card to get a free New Testament study Bible from Bibles for America. http://www.biblesforamerica.org. “Most people don’t read the Bible because they don’t understand it. The Bible is the Word of God and communicates God’s purpose and how He wants to have a relationship with us through His son Jesus Christ.” I said. 

She thanked me and assured me that she would order her free Bible. That made me happy. This afternoon, our oldest son Judson called me to wish me Happy Father’s Day. I returned the favor. It was already a happy day and it just got happier. 

Happy Day every day to everyone. Each day is a precious gift to live, learn, laugh and love. I encourage you all to get your free study Bible. We all need help to learn and understand things. This Bible will help you understand the truth. May you be blessed with the free gift of eternal life as I have.  May you enjoy and grow in the divine life each and every day!

It has always amazed me how much thought and planning go into the child’s attending kindergarten and how little planned and implemented learning occurs in the home. In general, there is a tendency for parents to rely heavily on the child’s attendance in school to guide them in learning. Too often parents lack confidence in their own ability to be the first and best teacher for their child. 

The base foundation for my learning began with my parents Clarence and Phyllis Pfeiffer. They both read books and magazines. My mother taught me the alphabet. Once I learned the basics, she taught me to write my name. My parents didn’t consciously encourage our learning (didn’t fixate on grades) as they modeled it and allowed it to happen. Some of our learning is organic, spontaneous. Some is guided by example of word and deed. 

I’ve been toying with an idea I call “The Learning Profile and Plan. Each parent would have a learning style profile. That way each parent could understand his or her own approach to learning and support the other in their learning. As the child grows, a profile could be administered. 

The Learning Plan would include questions to address certain key decisions:

• How much do I value learning?
• What are my personal learning goals?
• What do I know well that I can teach to my children?
• What resources do I need to help my children learn?
• How much money can we spend on education per year?
• Will we home school our children? If so, when do we start? What resources do we need for this?
• Will we put our children in pre-school? If so, at what age? Which pre-school? What criteria will guide our decision?

You get the idea. What plans do you have to educate your children? Let me know what they are and how I  can support you.

Reading was my first “official” learning. I learned the alphabet at home through the song “ABCDEFG”. In first grade I discovered the magic of letters forming words combined with other words to form sentences. Wow, a whole story!

Learning begins in the home and needs to continue there. Our family and homes have the potential to be the green house environment to nurture life-long learning. Each one teaches while learning – a mutual we-learning system of person to person, and peer to peer. Mom and Dad learn and teach each other. They then teach and learn side by side with their children. The children in return teach and learn. It grows beyond the home and into the community – an ecosystem of learners throughout the planet.

“Who needs a university when we have Google? All the world’s knowledge is available at a search. We can connect those who want to know with those who know” writes Jeff Jarvis in his book “What Would Google Do?” Jarvis quotes Will Richardson’s open letter to his children Tess and Tucker. Richardson said that education may take them to classrooms and lead to certification but it may also involve learning through games, communities, and networks build around their interests. “Instead of the piece of paper on the wall that says you are an expert, you will have an array of products and experiences, reflections, and conversations that show your expertise, show what you know, make it transparent. It will be comprised of a body of work and a network of learners that you will continually turn to over time, that will evolve as you evolve, and will capture your most important learning.”

I love the possibility of a “network of learners” that supports each of us in our interests and learning styles. So, when we greet each other from text to Twitter, let’s ask “what did you learn today?” The details could include our learning about ourselves, others, the world. Each little learning contributing as new facts and new skills are practiced, applied and taught.

I propose a manifesto as a challenge and a call to arms to claim our right and responsibility to learn and teach. We take ownership of the direction and content of our learning. We establish a learning tradition of life-long learning and a legacy of learning.

We, as a community of learners integrate the best learning processes and programs to support us to learn personally and together in fun and easy ways.