How do you learn best? How do your children learn best, if you have children? When I think of learning, some part of me remembers Elle Woods in the movie Legally Blonde
They know enough who know how to learn. -Henry Adams (1838-1918)
I think it goes a long way to know yourself well enough to know your own learning style, while at the same time trying to broaden your abilities, if you like to learn or consider yourself a life-long learner -- some people don't -- whether it seems like anything new has crossed your radar in a while or not.
Some of us are aural learners; some of us learn verbally; some learn best by doing.
For myself, it's harder for me to learn by listening, using only my ears, than it is if I incorporate some writing. I learn best if I take some notes or have something to look at while I listen. Still, I try occasionally to simply listen, so I don't get even more rusty with the skill.
I also learn best if the one teaching respects the audience. As a child, I would work hard for the teacher who acted like they liked me and expected the best of me. That is true for my children too. It is as true for me today as it was then.
I do not like learning through the school of hard knocks; I'd prefer to learn from the knowledge and the mistakes of others, or through inspiration, though I've taken some hard hits along the way. It's a truism that the only one who makes no mistakes is the one who does nothing. None (few?) of us earned perfect papers all through school without a single mistake, and we learn to accept it in that context, but we don't like mistakes in real life. I loved this idea:
Failure should be our teacher, not our undertaker. Failure is delay, not defeat. It is a temporary detour, not a dead end. Failure is something we can avoid only by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing. Denis Waitley
Well, I loved the next one! I never thought that just admitting one is wrong is a way of saying one is wiser than he was before. Of course, that is true, because we learn as much from our errors as through books, or we should, but it made me smile anyway. I also thought of some I know who have never admitted they are wrong, or at least the words "I'm sorry" never have passed their lips. How is that possible?
A man should never be ashamed to own that he has been in the wrong, which is but saying that he is wiser today than he was yesterday. Alexander Pope (1688-1744) English Poet
The following one made me think. Can you think of specifics?
There are some defeats more triumphant than victories. Michel de Montaigne
It's nice to contemplate a somewhat triumphant life, wherein our defeats, or some of them, hold as much honor as our victories.
How do you learn best? Do you like a challenge? What do you think?
Karin
Originally posted 2007-08-31 19:16:37.
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I learn best when I am fully engaged and hungry for the information I’m receiving…
Naturally, it’s easier to learn from someone fascinating, but I can also learn from the crusty and difficult- providing they know their chops.
I firmly believe that no one learns properly from humiliation of ANY kind.
It doesn’t hurt to make it interesting-
If I’m the one teaching, that’s how I do it.
And I make it fun, too, for whatever age I’m instructing.And user-friendly. And memorable.
But for me, it’s not essential-
Yes, absolutely, good points! The person has to know their stuff, then if they are crusty, I can get past it too.
I know if I am teaching I try not to bore myself, LOL! It reminds me of Sammy Davis Jr talking about how he made each performance fresh for the one who had never seen it before. It’s something to strive for.
I think the reason I like to read is that I can skim past the parts I already know or find less interesting. Of course, that isn’t the same as interacting personally, but it is interacting with the thought of the author. Years ago I bought a small tape deck that allows you to set the speed and change the pitch so it doesn’t sound like the chipmunks. It allows you to listen to a taped lecture faster, because we can listen faster than we can speak. It tends to keep me engaged and my mind from wandering, because I can slow it down or speed it up or have it at the regular talking speed. Of course the added plus is that I can get through and to information faster.
Unfortunately it no longer works as good as it did, and I miss it for the times I used it. I might have to get it fixed since my neighbor has shared a bunch of tapes with me from The Teaching Company.