Educate Yourself

With all the different learning and teaching styles, the student does the educating. Some people direct and others instruct; some inspire, others dictate. But the student who learns is the one who will educate himself or herself.

Many students have heard of the self teaching concept before, but they don't experience it much in high school. Classes taught in a high school are designed to suit the lowest common denominator. While some students are built to excel, they have become programmed to learn the same thing in the same way as everybody else. However, with proper motivation, and some mentoring, almost any student can educate themselves to become leaders of the future. In college, many things are taught the same to every student, but much more is taught and learned in a specific field. As students select majors and decide on their career paths, they go off to learn what is needed for their future. But what can a student do if he or she hasn't decided on a future career? These students just need to decide to become great. There is a lot to be learned out there that can help anybody live a successful life, but the individual has to be responsible for the learning.

Education in the public school system has had many improvements throughout the centuries. Is a change needed to help students excel to their potentials? What can or should we do? What can government do? Ultimately, how will the students learn to love to learn?

Give It

Valentine's Day is a day for love, but it's also a day for giving. I now have a permanent Valentine so we, my wife and I, gave away a box of chocolates to some strangers. We were on BYU campus Saturday night looking for a stranger who would accept the gift. I saw two policemen talking by their car and made the suggestion that we give the chocolates to them. My wife agreed that it would be a good way to let them know they are appreciated.

The cops immediately asked what we did to the box. I realized then that they had a good reason to be suspicious. They are prone to receive undesirable gifts. But, they were kidding when they asked us what we did to the box of chocolates. I then decided to explain why I was giving candy to a stranger. I received an assignment in my Management Communications class to give something to a stranger. Telling them about the assignment kind of ruined the sincerity of giving the chocolate, but it dismissed any suspicion. They weren't worried about it; though, it ended up being a great conversation starter. The one officer told us about a time when he was at the police station and a couple kids brought in a box of doughnuts. His story doesn't need to be repeated here, but it was interesting that the act of service was able to make strangers not so strange.

We shouldn't need an assignment to get us to be kind and willing to give. Nevertheless, any act of service can start an interesting conversation.

The Smell of Libraries

If it is true that a smell brings back a memory more than any other sense, then a library is a place that can bring back many memories. This blast from the past isn't necessarily because there are many smells in a library; it's because there are many things associated with the smell of books.

A certain smell brings back a memory of a certain activity that happened when a similar or the same smell was smelt. I'm not referring to someone saying, "That smells like strawberries." The subject is more related to a comment like this. "That smell takes me back to the day when I picked strawberries at my grandma's house." A lot of things that we learn in life come from reading books. Books have a smell. When a lot of books are stored together in one place, they seem to share the same smell. Try going to a library with used books (not a book store packed with freshly printed books) and smell if you recognize the scent. It may take you back to the novel you recently finished. You may remember a childhood picture book that you loved. Or, you may remember the never-ending researching from your college days. Either way, you are most likely going remember being in a library.

Libraries are one example of smelling your way to the past. Another thought is using smells to help you remember things. For example, if you have a big test coming up, burn a peppermint scented candle while you study. Then when you take the test, have some peppermint oil handy or chew peppermint gum. Who knows? It might work.

Something for Nothing

We humans are minimalists. We like to get all that we can for the least amount of effort. The idea of getting something for nothing implies that the thing is free. But that is the extreme. We are usually willing to give something for something; we just want to give less than we get. This issue is due to greed and self-interest. Why pay full price when you can find a discount? Why work harder when you will get paid the same? Why pay a tip when it’s not required? These questions relate to the idea of getting more for less.

Something for nothing isn’t only a selfish idea. It could be directly related to efficiency. A business will try to get the same revenues or better while constantly working on cutting costs. This cost cutting isn’t dishonest or cruel; it’s efficient. The phrase something for nothing has a negative connotation. But using the idea can actually help in being more productive without producing waste. We would all like to be more efficient in our lives, but we also need to use good judgment and protect our integrity.

In contrast is the idea of giving a lot and wanting the least. I’m not talking about charity, I mean college education. So many students pay a full tuition, but they want to put forth the least amount of effort to get through. There is great opportunity in education, but the students minimize the knowledge they gain.

Disney's Missing Parents

Disney is famous for its animated films. The films are filled with adventures. But what about parents? Most of these adventurers only have one parent in the film. Think of the princesses. Arial is daughter to King Trident, with no known mother. Jasmine also has no mother; she’s daughter to the sultan. Snow White and Cinderella have step mothers. Belle may be a beauty, but she is motherless. Disney’s new movie The Princess and the Frog starts with two parents, but Tiana’s father dies before the adventure begins.

In each of these movies, the princess has less-than-desirable family situations. Without both a mother and a father, the family is broken. If they had both parents, their lives would be complete. But there are missing parents. There is need for something more. So, each princess has her adventure and ends up with a prince.

This is not only the case with princesses; there are other Disney examples of missing parents: Simba loses his father, Nemo loses his mother, Mowgli has neither, and so forth.

Money vs. Gifts

What is the point in buying gifts for somebody when you can just give them money?  Money is universal in an economy.  If you receive currency or a check, you can put the dollar amount to whatever you need or want.  Unless you specifically ask for a certain gift, it is very unlikely that the giver would pick exactly what you want.  So, why do we buy gifts?

It’s the thought that counts. The giver may want to present their creative thinking in picking out a gift that would be personal to the receiver.  This creativity can strengthen the bond between the two.  On the other hand, taking the time to browse, shop, buy, and wrap a gift shows importance.  It’s always nice to receive what you wanted without having to take the time to get it.  Giving a gift shows the giver that you spent money and time—or someone else’s time—to make the purchase.  It is not always quite as exciting to open an envelope with a check, then to unwrap a large box with bows and ribbons. Some people are even offended by receiving money instead of a gift.

Another idea to explore is that of gift-cards.  The gift is money, and there was time spent to make the purchase, but the money is limited to a certain store. Is it more of a gift or money?

Writing

Writing is a form of communication that has not only changed history, but made history possible. The information that we have about ancient civilizations is possible because of some sort of writing. We, the human race, are unique to other animals in a big way due to our ability to write. Thoughts are instant. Writing will last. As long as there is some way to understand the writing, it will be of great value now and in the future.

I am new to this whole blogging thing. Posting things on the internet for all to read is such a new thing for the human race. It is easy to think, and fairly easy to write, but to write what one really thinks and feels is not so simple. Blogging makes it harder in ways, and easier in others. A blog is available to the public; and some, if not most, thoughts are not meant to be public. A reserved person would be very hesitant to write things online for others to see for the sake of exposing their personal thoughts and feelings. However, many thoughts and feelings can be expressed better in writing than in speaking. So a blog can make it easier for many to express and share what is deep inside them.

Well, I have accepted the challenge to begin blogging. I hope those who read will take me seriously, but not too seriously. You'll never really know if these thoughts and ideas are my deepest.