Adolescents and the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil
Posted: December 31, 2011 Filed under: Parenting, Spirituality, Thoughts 2 Comments »
I remember being 19. It was heady. I knew everything, had no fear, and I saw life as full of opportunity. I was anxious to explore freedom and couldn’t wait to get away from the chains that held me back. I actually thought I was smarter than everyone else. I was not open to advice, and I couldn’t wait to make my mark. My only restriction, as I saw it, was money. If I just had a good cash flow, I would slay any dragon put before me.
Now, 30 years removed from that time, I’m watching someone I love very much make decisions based on a similar worldview. I am grieving the future loss of his innocence.
When I was 19, I knew I could try out some of my dreams, and if they didn’t work out, I’d just step back into my old life and continue on as if nothing had changed. The problem with that thinking? Everything changed.
Over the course of the next five years of my life, by the time I was 25, I had acquired experiences that changed me forever; I was enveloped by addictions that I still wrestle with, and some of my actions disqualified me for some of my current dreams. I can’t go back, I can’t go home again, and because of those few years of my life, I’m no longer innocent. I’ve tasted the forbidden fruit – and I’ll never be the same.
”disobedience and lack of trust that changed her”
Grumpy
Posted: September 5, 2010 Filed under: Parenting, Spirituality, Thoughts 7 Comments »
In the early days of photography, everyone looks grumpy. There are several reasons for this. First, it took awhile for the negative to capture the image, so the people had to sit still for a long time. So they assumed a natural pose and waited for the photographer to tell them they were done. Also, these were hard working people. They were busy fighting the Civil War (Which, incidentally, wasn’t so civil), there were economic issues, a country to build, and a whole lot of other things going on that didn’t necessarily inspire a lot of joy. Finally, at that point in the history of photography, people didn’t realize how grumpy they looked. It never occurred to them to fake a smile by saying “Cheese!”
Around the same time, this guy Maslow came up with a theory which he called the Hierarchy of Needs. According to Maslow, people focused on safety, food, shelter, and other basic needs before they ever considered seeking something called Self Actualization. In fact, up until the last couple of generations, most people hadn’t the foggiest notion of what it meant to be actualized – let alone to do it themselves. They were too busy trying to provide food and shelter for their families.
Schooled
Posted: April 27, 2010 Filed under: Parenting, Spirituality, Thoughts 9 Comments »
(NOTE: This post is in response to this post I read yesterday.)
Neither of my grandfathers completed the sixth grade. My parents completed high school, but neither completed more than a few college courses. My brother and I went on to graduate school. Someday I’ll finish my Masters, and he’s about ready to finish a Doctorate. In addition, both of us are professional speakers, educators, and trainers. In a word, education is something I do.
But that doesn’t mean I know anything about educational or learning theory. I have friends who have PhDs in education and learning theory, and I have other friends who are school teachers. Anecdotally, I can share experiences where teachers and instructors were awesome – and vice versa. My other two claims to expertise in this arena are a history of that includes three grade schools, three middle schools, and two high schools. Additionally, I had a brief tenure as a school principal last Spring! In other words, I may not be able to define good educational theory, but I can certainly spot it when I see it.
