Education

(Photo by Stephen Gilbert)

There are two educations. One should teach us how to make a living and the other how to live.
~ John Adams

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I love this photo.  Stephen shared it with Joanne who shared it with me.  They gave me permission to use it.  I'm grateful for that.

The photos is funny, but it also made me think... Maybe once you enter into an educational exchange, you can't exit. You can't go back to not knowing or ignorance or innocence. You have to deal with and integrate (or segregate) your new knowledge.

I also like that there is a number lock thing on this door. Unfortunately, in lots of educational situations you have to know the code, speak the language, understand the culture, have insider information before you can enter into those spaces.

But once you're in, you know what you can do? You can prop the door for other people. Some people won't like that. And I'm not encouraging you to do this in terms of residence halls because you don't want strangers wandering in.

But when you're learning... is there a better way to really explore topics and expose yourself to ideas than letting strangers into your educational space? I think not.

Also, bring your phone or laptop or a notepad. You're going to want to write some things down. You also are going to want some distractions because some people take up too much of that educational space (especially the talking part of the space) and aren't willing to share. I guess they think their ideas are bigger than everyone else's.  Or more important.

They're often wrong, but if they keep talking then I guess no one can get a word in to tell them they're wrong.

You know who I'm talking about. You know who you are. 

So quit it.