NEVER Stop Learning…Or Teaching 🍎

     I remember when I was scheduling classes as a student at Grand Blanc High School back in the late 70s/early eighties – I graduated in 1981. As I look through the pages of classes offered, I was overwhelmed, in a good way. There were so many wonderful classes to choose from it wasn’t just 9th grade history or 10th grade English, it seemed that they were classes that had more specifics.  For example in the ninth grade I didn’t just take a basic Physical Ed class, I took a dance class that counted for gym credit, with Miss Wylie’s. In the 11th grade I took a Shakespeare class not just 11th grade English. I also took a really good 10th grade English class on Non-Fiction books. I remember reading a book by New York City firefighter, Dennis Smith,  called Report From Engine Company 82-Are you impressed that all these years later I remember the title and author’s name?  I remembered it all except for “82”, I thought it was 89, had to look it up on Amazon. The other half of the year I took Mrs. Tartoni’s Creative Writing class. In the ninth grade, I took History of the American Indian with Mrs. Tremaine . The classes, these teachers taught had a  lasting impact on my life to this date. For example, Mrs. Staley did such a good job teaching Shakespeare that when I became third grade teacher, a unit on Shakespeare with my students, was part of my lesson plans. Using a series of books that took the tales of Shakespeare and put them into common language rather than old English the kids loved the stories and we had fun discussing the characters and lessons. Mrs. Tartoni’s Creative Writing class had a huge impact on my life and eventually led to the writing It’s a Great Day To…Gather Around a Table. Thanks, Mrs Tartoni!  Mrs. Yates‘s 10th grade Non-Fiction class inspired me to read more nonfiction after reading about Dennis Smith’s experience as a firefighter in a very busy part of New York City. Mrs. Trewmian’s American Indians class gave me a perspective on the life of the American Indians. She shared with us her experiences from her work on Indian reservations and at the end of the semester I asked my mom if I could have Mrs. Tremaine and our class over for dinner and we did. Mrs. Treen communicated her lessons in a very thoughtful and insightful way.

     When my kids were in high school, I don’t remember the variety of classes offered. It seemed as if the curriculum had changed, possibly to include all of these subjects within the major subject areas, rather than more specific courses.  Our youngest son, however, was homeschooled for half of his high school experience, and I recall looking through the catalog of classes offered online through the Aventa Learning platform. Aventa offered more subject specific classes, such as what I described from my high school experience.

     In thinking about a teenagers learning experience to prepare them for the world, it probably doesn’t really matter how a school chooses to offer these classes, but that each subject overs the subject matter necessary for success on the standardized tests and to give them a broad exposure to classics. Yet, as a teacher or a parent, it’s our role to teach our kids that learning is lifelong. I value my high school experience at Grand Blanc High School. I felt that I was very prepared for college, and more than that, I felt that my high school experience prepared me for the real world. Any high school curriculum that does that is a winner, in my mind.

     However, as a parent, do not leave it all to the schools. A school system can only do so much. There are some things that parents need to teach them, like your values and morals. Of course, we hope that the school is reinforcing what we’re trying to teach a home, but that doesn’t always happen. I always looked at the schools as teaching the basics and some advanced academics where necessary. There were some things that I needed to teach, and I was glad to do it. Most importantly, the learning doesn’t stop once you exit at the school or once a book closes. Learning is lifelong. And learning is fun.

     Here are some examples of what I’m talking about. There’s no reason why you can’t teach little lessons here and there. When your kids are eating breakfast, you may go over the daily routine, the plans for after school, but breakfast is also a time where you can teach other things. You could have a morning devotional during breakfast or teach a Bible lesson. My kids learn their states, capitals and countries during breakfast when I put their vitamins on a different state capital or country (we had place mats that had a map of United States and a World map while they were growing up. It was an easy way to teach them geography of the United States and the world. In the car, you can have discussions on a variety of subjects maybe as a parent you keep a running list on your phone of topics to talk about and when you find yourself in a long car ride, you pick one of those topics. And sometimes these lessons come up on their own when a teachable moment happens. Often I’ve talked about reading to your kids at night not only when they’re little but as they get older, there are so many really good classic stories to read aloud and if you read a chapter every night before bed, it  gives you an opportunity to spend some time  with your child or children before a prayer and they to sleep. There is so much in the world to be learned and when your kids see you interested and exciting to learn it will inspire them.

       I remember when my children were young and thinking, “WOW I only have eighteen years to teach them everything they need to know before they leave the house, that’s an awesome responsibility to reflect on”  and that’s also a wonderful adventure leading to many great days 🍎