Learning is something we do in many ways all of our lives. In the beginning, our parents are our first instructors. Attending school, we study text books and listen to our teachers. Since I met Dick and Jane in first grade primers, I’ve loved to read. As an adult, I balance our checkbook using the basic arithmetic I gained from elementary flash cards.
When formal education is finished, we have apprenticeships, a program or position in which someone learns a trade by working under a certified expert for several years. Also, there is on-the-job training.
Another way is questioning a wiser person. In the early 2000s, my eight-year-old grandson and I were watching the TV sitcom, “Becker,” starring Ted Danson as John Becker, a misanthropic doctor who operates a small practice in New York City. He is constantly annoyed by everybody and everything, but he is well-liked because he genuinely cares about others. The physician was listening to a friend venting because his son had just come out as gay.
Jacob asked, “Grandma, what does gay mean?”
I wasn’t prepared for his question. It took me a moment to reply, “Guys date guys instead of girls.” Both of us were satisfied with my explanation and finished watching the show in companionable silence.
Osmosis can teach us about things in which we have no interest. I don’t like professional football. During its season, I’m irked when my favorite, Sunday night TV programs are delayed because an afternoon game lasts overly long. Still, I know a lot more about the sport than I want to because my husband and our daughter are Minnesota Vikings’ fans. I hear them talk about the latest match-ups and some of their knowledge seeps into my brain. Each fall, Lisa buys season tickets. One year, I joined the two of them attending a contest in Minneapolis because I think it’s fun to do about anything once.
How have you acquired your knowledge?