Proverbs 9:9
King James Version
9 Give instruction to a wise man,
and he will be yet wiser:
teach a just man,
and he will increase in learning.
At first, this born again workman/watchman thought we'd focus on the subject of "reading".
All because of this short, 11-minute video on it.
But SPIRIT reminded me of something.
From all the days I was in school.
There's MORE to learning.
And ONE question remained in my heart
I think no teacher EVER addressed that simple question.
(And maybe, no one ever asked.)
I don't believe ANY of my classmates did.
Maybe, I didn't either.
We pretty much took things for granted.
Was no one aware?
Would it immediately be "squelched"?
Well, I was a wilting magnolia then.
Unlike today, I've become "warrior".
The question?
It pertained to ANY, and EVERY, subject they taught us.
The question being:
"Why do I have to learn this?"
I don't believe the "WHY" was EVER addressed.
The subjects were given, but the RELEVANCE never given.
It seems to be forever silenced by society.
As if, to ask it was "taboo".
We're not supposed to ask "WHY".
We're supposed to accept, and absorb, what is given.
School was "systematic".
Just don't ask the "WHY".
Teachers may not even know that, too.
Maybe, they're just asked to teach what they themselves studied, what schools want them to teach, and what they're probably good at.
To be fair, society and students, have exhausted our poor teachers, too.
We have not given them enough time for themselves, and their families.
Asking the "WHY" question might just "unhinge" them.
(If not question their very subject, and existence.)
As you can see, this learning, and teaching issues, can raise many other questions, rattling the very institutions that created such "systems".
In the meantime, my growing young brain, then, persisted:
"Why do I have to learn this?"
As if there ALWAYS had to be a legit REASON, before I'd embark on a learning journey, and fully embrace it.
That must have been the reason why I kept searching, through books, almost ALL my life.
There were gaps to my learning.
And by GOD, I sure had to find it!
And allow, He did.
He let me traverse the path of learning -- on my own.
Or so it seemed, when in truth, He was there all the time.
Through my many pitfalls, and mistakes.
But that's all part of learning.
GOD knew that one question would "hound" my soul.
He probably created me to be that one person who perpetually asks the REASON for EVERYTHING.
And that one person who couldn't seem to embrace man's "truth".
No matter how prettily it was "packaged".
Making me especially suspicious when you need such packaging at all.
Won't real truth stand on its own merits?
And I had no patience for "elitist" approach.
I wanted something simple, that everyone can understand, and not just reserved for a few.
I kept questioning, searching in my heart, for the VALIDITY of things.
I knew ABSOLUTE truth was out there, somewhere.
And I searched for it, with all my measly might.
Because if teachers could have given a good answer, I'd have embraced their subject easily, happily, excitedly.
And would have known my days in school were worthwhile, and filled with purpose.
Students would have gone to school excited to learn, because their "WHY", the purpose, has been addressed.
But, perhaps, we ourselves never even asked that question.
"Why do I need to learn this?"
We've been programmed, cajoled, and "bullied" into learning what society wanted us to learn.
And my whole being rebelled against that.
I felt there needed to be a foundation for learning.
And answering the "WHY" question seems to be a MAIN building block for me.
The "WHY" is the most normal question, if anything.
Children always ask it.
But schools never encourage it.
Adults get irritated at kids' persistence in asking it.
Well, I'll forever remain a kid, in my heart, and will always ask it.
And when students get older, oftentimes, they become lazy, jaded, or indifferent, and forget (or don't care), to ask the "WHY".
"Why do I have to learn this?"
That makes all the difference, you know.
When you get to know the reason WHY you have to learn something.
It gives a "framework" for your studies.
It gives joy to the learning.
What is it's relevance?
What is it's importance?
Is it useful?
Is it necessary at all?
Will it help me in any way?
Will it help others?
Will it make my life easier?
Will it make others' lives easier?
What will it do for me?
What will it do for others?
Is it fun to know?
Is it all just ego, and vanity?
And it all starts with this simple question:
"Why do I have to learn this?"
We've probably all been automatons, for the longest time.
Doing things mechanically, not really knowing the reason for things.
It was expected of us.
We had to do it.
Or fail.
Call that school "tradition", if you will.
We just moved on to the next level, as we passed our exams.
We were "herded" to the next grade, BEFORE we even understood the validity, and relevance, of EACH subject from the previous grade.
Our mind was a muddle of knowledge.
In my experience, that went on until college.
We were not given enough time to question, absorb, verify, nor breathe.
And before you know it, we either failed, or passed, and had to become adults.
And we were herded to the next step -- "work", "career", whatever.
But the question remained in my heart to this day:
"Why do I have to learn this?"
What is being force-fed into my heart?
C'mon teacher, tell me something I need to know.
If you think school is an isolated case, think upon these --
When asked (or even forced) to eat vegetables, a child asks:
"Why do I have to?"
At work, customers, and investors, demand:
"What's in it for me?"
Does our whole existence hinge on what they taught us in schools?
Will we die, unfulfilled, if we fail to learn things they taught us?
Which subjects are truly imperative?
Have we got the best teachers?
Trustworthy teachers?
Or is there a BETTER education?
Is there a BETTER educator?
I sure found out there is.
Proverbs 9:10
King James Version
10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom:
and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.
And there's more.
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