I love to learn. My love for learning has had ebbs and flows throughout my life. When I was in elementary, I loved school. When I was in kindergarten, I came home from school and told my mom that I wanted to be a school teacher -- look at me now! I loved to play school with my sisters. School was generally pretty easy for me. I read a lot and was a naturally good speller. Math usually came pretty easily to me. I had a little harder time with history because it's hard for me to remember names, dates, and details. Now I enjoy history more than I used to, but it's usually through historical fiction, which is an easier format for me to read than traditional historical texts. I have learned more about history in this way as an adult than I ever thought I would. I'm so glad I didn't give up on history just because it wasn't a strength for me.
When I had only been teaching school for 3 years or so, I remember hearing about an optional professional development opportunity after school for reading comprehension. I remember thinking to myself that I didn't really need that, so I wasn't going to go. It was probably more of a problem of time - there are always too many things on my to-do list at school and it's hard to take time out for an optional thing. Either way, that thought stands out in my mind and I feel a little sad about my former self.
Fast forward about 20 years, and I have a different outlook. I still have too many things I want to get done in a school day, but my appreciation for learning things that will make me a better teacher has significantly increased. Last year, I attended a few optional math trainings after school. Since my contract time is done at lunch time, I had to make arrangements for carpool and go back to the school to attend them. I was so glad I did since I learned some simple strategies and received some fabulous math kits for attending. I have found a lot of great ideas and resources just since the beginning of the summer, when I started my Instagram and Facebook page for sharing my teaching ideas.
There are so many things I have learned in the last 7 years since going back to teaching that I wish I knew from day 1. But that's not the way life works. I learn and grow through my experiences, good and bad. I learn from other people. I learn from books and trainings. I learn through research when facing a specific problem. I learn from failures. And as I continue to learn, I feel energized and excited to put my new knowledge into my teaching. I gain more confidence in my skills as a teacher. There's also a counter-intuitive phenomenon that I see. The more I learn, the more I realize I have to learn.
Before I became a mom, I was the best mom. I had all the answers, and I just knew I would have perfect children. I was pretty patient with my students, even when facing difficult behaviors, and I knew I would transfer that trait to my home. Then I became a mom. Again, the more I learned, the more I realized that I had so much more to learn. That patience that I was so proud of disintegrated when these little humans that are so precious to me pressed my buttons. The stakes feel so much higher and I have to get it right. This pressure makes it so much harder. I have learned so much, but even with my current knowledge, if I was to start over, I know I would still struggle. Just like with teaching, as I increase my parenting skills, it is exciting and rewarding -- and then the next hurdle appears and I continue my journey of learning.
A few years ago, I was called to be one of 4 organists for my ward. I had never learned how to play the organ, and I got a 15 minute lesson from a friend with the settings she uses and a couple basic concepts. I learned about the button that allows me to "cheat" with the foot pedals, getting the nice, full bass notes with the keyboard instead of my feet. I felt content with my extremely minimal skills. Then our ward music coordinator arranged an organ training for our stake through a program from BYU. I truly learned about the settings and how to customize and adapt for different styles of hymns. I learned a few tricks for the foot pedals. My learning bug was stoked. I bought a couple of books and went to the church a couple of times to start playing around with my new knowledge. I didn't do much at that time, though.
Then I was scheduled to play the organ in sacrament meeting for the first time in over 3 years today. I practiced the hymns and played with the settings for longer than I expected. Today, I changed settings between songs and even between verses a few times. Even if it wasn't noticeable to others, I had fun. I'm excited to keep practicing and learning because I'm just on the cusp of what I can learn. I didn't ever think I would want to learn more about playing the organ. My dad started learning how to play a few years before he got sick and I found myself wishing I could share my excitement with him today.
This same craving to learn more is evident in my scripture reading. I have tried many strategies since I was a teenager to get more out of my scripture time. Several years ago, I decided to do an in-depth study of Isaiah since Christ commanded us to study his words. I took about a year to read through slowly, reading all of the footnotes and multiple commentaries. I learned a lot, but I also knew I had only scratched the surface.
This week, I started Isaiah again, following the Come Follow Me curriculum. This time around, besides a couple of new commentaries, I added a few podcasts and one of my new favorite strategies - different translations of the Bible to better understand the original meaning of the Hebrew writings. Some of the translations I like have formatted the verses with the couplets/parallelism that Isaiah uses heavily grouped together, instead of the traditional paragraph format. With all of these strategies combined, after the first 12 chapters, I am in awe of Isaiah's brilliance as a writer and poet. I feel a drive to learn more, especially as I go back to the King James version after all my other studies and I feel like I'm getting the main ideas so much better than ever. It's motivating to see progress from my work. I'm so grateful for the efforts of so many people and technology that gives me access to so many wonderful resources. I love learning from the scriptures.
In a commencement address at BYU by Elder David A. Bednar titled "Learning to Love Learning", he shared 3 points:
1. Learning to Love Learning Is Central to the Gospel of Jesus Christ
2. Learning to Love Learning Is Vital to Our Ongoing Spiritual and Personal Development
3. Learning to Love Learning Is an Absolute Necessity in the World in Which We Do Now and Will Yet Live, Serve, and Work
The energy I feel as I learn in these areas of my life and more is a gift from God. I'm so grateful for the ways I can learn and progress in my life and I'm eager to continue on my path of learning.
