THERE IS NO TEACHING, ONLY LEARNING

This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand (Matthew 13:13).

My wife, the lovely and gracious Helen, is an educator.  She has spoken to me often of the frustrations of teaching children who are unprepared to learn and who do not want to learn.  This is not only true of children, but also of adults.  In a news letter I receive, the author spoke of his frustration with adults who would not accept new concepts of investing.  That frustration prompted him to say, "There is no teaching, only learning."  He went on to say that one must be emotionally prepared to learn before learning can take place.  An old school board member who wanted to keep teachers in their place used to say, 'No teaching has been done if the students haven't learned.'  There is enough truth in it so his premise sounds logical, but the truth is, if one refuses to learn, no teaching can make him learn; "My mind is made up, do not confuse me with the facts."

Is our culture emotionally preparing our children to learn?  If one studies the demographics of our country it will be found that parents are pursuing more self-satisfying lives rather than lives that are in the best interest of their children.  With those kinds of parents, how can children be prepared to learn?  Our problems in education are more of a crisis of culture than any lack of money.

Our Father's Blessings,
Tom