“If only I had a brain,” the scarecrow sang in the Wizard of Oz. The scarecrow is my favorite character in the movie. What he discovers is that he does have a brain and he is thinking. We, like the scarecrow need to discover our own brain.

Brain cell development starts at 42 days after conception. The first brain cell called a neuron fires. Approximately 9,500 new neurons are created every second till there are 100 billion neurons. We are born with 100 billion neurons and have that many till late middle life.  

Sixty days before your birth your neurons start trying to communicate with each other. That communication is a reaching out as a strand called an axon. When a connection is made, a synapse is formed. By the age of three each of the 100 billion neurons have formed 15,000 synaptic connections. That’s 15,000 for each of your 100 billion neurons. For example, from 16 months to 36 months there is a big burst of language and cognitive competence. The child goes from knowing a total of 5-10 words to gaining 1-2 words every day. 

The stronger the neuron connection, the faster the processing. We learn because our neurons are connected. Each time we learn something new, our brains are changed. The patterns of woven connections is extensive, intricate and unique. 

“Happy Father’s Day”, Ashley said as she handed me my medium dark coffee. It caught me by surprise. I laughed and said, “Thank you. I forgot what day it is. I treat every day like it’s important.” 

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!

“No more books, no more teachers’ dirty looks”. I distinctly remember saying that the last day of school for 7th grade. I was one of those kids who usually got teachers’ dirty looks and sent out into the hall for talking too much in class. Hey, I’m a guy with lots of energy. Besides, since when did learning only occur in a school building confined to a room and strapped to a desk?

I have been fortunate to have a few good teachers. Miss Maurice, the librarian who challenged me to read with an eye on quality. Mr. Harper, 6th grade teacher who used real world examples from the Wall Street Journal to teach us math and English.  Their examples encouraged me to learn in school. And I never quit learning because school was out. To me, it just meant no grades and no stuff I had to learn. The summer reading program at the public library in South Bend,In was an annual event for  me.

Earlier this year, I retook the Gallup Strengths Finder Profile. Learner is my #2 strength. Which clearly explains my passion for learning. The learner loves to learn. It is the process that excites me. A new skill, a new subject all become a new challenge for me. Engaged in the process, I then want to share that information with others. 

Now, I believe we all love to learn. Unfortunately, some of us had a rough start. Possibly not enough example and encouragement in the home. School teachers who could only relate to students who learned like them. And usually have zero tolerance for students who learned differently. 

Well, don’t let your past learning experiences stop you from learning today. I often had to remind myself “this is now, that was then” whenever a negative experience surfaced. Those negative experiences combined with some professors who couldn’t teach. They say, “those who can’t do, teach,” So what does that say about the ones who can’t do or teach?

What helped me was to focus on my goal of finishing the degree so I could get a good job to support my family. And I would energize myself by resurrecting my inner joy of learning recalling times that were pleasant, usually learning outside of school.  

Someone said, “we start school as a question mark and we end as a period”. That’s not good! Let’s help each turn that around for our learning today and in the future. Also, to help our children navigate their learning in and out of school so they always maintain the joy and wonder of learning.

What positive experiences did you have in school? What made them positive? The teacher? The subject?

What positive experiences did you have learning outside of school? How has those experiences impacted you?

We-Learning Manifesto

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.