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Never stop learning

All the "young fry" are back in school again. I wish them all a great year of fun and learning, which often can be the same thing. If you have been out of school for 20 or 40 or 50 years, I wish you the same. Learning does not need to end with graduation.

Unfortunately, a child's natural curiosity and eagerness to learn often gets stifled at an early age. I am not certain whether this is a failure of the school system or negative influences in the home or environment. Whatever the reason, it is a situation which should concern parents, teachers and anyone else who cares about children. Hang around with the average four-year-old, and you hear an endless string of questions. Why is the sky blue? What makes the car's engine run? Where does the sun go at night? By junior high age any effort to impart information spawns a different set of questions. Are we required to learn this? Is this going to be on the test? Why do I need to know this?

Some students do hang on to their curiosity and keep lapping up knowledge as eagerly as a kitten laps milk. I think they are usually the ones who are surrounded by adults who still enjoy learning. Although I admit to occasionally taking the "I don't need to know that" attitude, I am generally curious about the world around me. I like to learn. If I could afford it, I would probably be taking a college class all the time. Right now I am trying to absorb a wealth of information in a book titled "The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and 100 Other Lists Fully Explicated." I confess I probably will not remember in detail the data about the Indo-European family of languages or the 12 tribes of Israel. However, something will surely stick in my brain. It may be easier to retain information when we are young, but we never get too old to learn.

I think my desire to learn new things reflects my upbringing by parents who loved to learn and to help me learn. Although my father never had the opportunity to go to school beyond eighth grade, he never stopped learning. When I was in college, he would ask me about my classes and what I was learning. My mother had more formal education, but she also did not regard her education as completed with her last college class.

They were both very patient in helping me to learn new things or to clarify puzzling information. I can remember being very confused about why the 1900s were called the 20th century. After several unsuccessful efforts to penetrate my thick skull with verbal explanations, Mom set me down an drew a time line marked off in segments to show me that from 1 to 100 was the first century, 100 to 200 the second century, etc. The light bulb finally went on. I may not have been an easy learner, but once something was explained carefully, I understood it. Sometimes, anyway.

My parents loved books and reading. Mom did not have time to read as much as she would have liked, but she often recited poems and told stories to me as she went about her work. Dad had his nose in a book or newspaper every spare moment. Dad's sister who lived with us listened to books on records and read Braille magazines in her spare time. It was obvious from my earliest childhood that the adults in my life valued books.

I believe one of the most valuable things parents can do to encourage their children to learn is to let them see their parents reading and learning. Take your children to the library and help them find books about all the things which pique their curiosity. Some schools have a designated "silent reading time," when everyone is expected to be reading a book for pleasure. Students are not allowed to do homework assignments during this time. Teachers are not allowed to plan lessons or grade papers. This time is strictly for reading. I think this is a great idea. One aspect which caught my attention the first time I subbed in such a school was the requirement for teachers to read. If students see their teachers reading, won't this reinforce the idea that reading is fun as well as educational? As the saying goes, example is better than precept.

For those of us who have no children or grandchildren for whom to set an example, continuing to learn is still a good idea for a lot of reasons. The mind, like the muscles, stays healthier if it gets some exercise. Alzheimer's may catch up with some of us no matter what we do, but keeping the mind active may stave it off for awhile. Personally, I need all the help I can get. Another reason I like to keep learning is less practical, but equally important. I enjoy learning. When you finish your formal education, don't lay your brain on a shelf to gather dust. Never stop learning.

— Jane Vajnar

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