Learning and School

I tend to ask the question, “Is that true?,” an awful lot.  It’s the energy of the “Revolutionary” archetype.  And of course, I’d have to have a strong Revolutionary energy to practice alternative medicine.  So, including and beyond health, I wonder if there is a better way than the accepted mainstream version. 

 

This questioning process is the source of all innovation.  We’d still be sitting in the dark and sending telegraphs if someone hadn’t wondered if there might be a better way.  

As our children came of school age, we asked the question again.  Is public school the best way for kids to learn?  And even more, is learning the goal…or is there more meaning behind learning?  And what is important to learn?  To what ends…what are we learning for…what is the end goal?

I want to point out the purpose of this questioning process.  It is NOT to declare how stupid everyone else is.  It is not a criticism of current standards.  It is a wonder and thoughtfulness about potential improvement in efficiency and effectiveness.  And the reason for the point is that sometimes people who are practicing current standards might hear it as a criticism.  I want to be clear…that is NOT the intention!  

For example, the i phone 5 is not a criticism of the i phone 4…it is a stretching toward increased efficiency and effectiveness.  

Back to kids learning.  My simple wonder, is…if a child focuses on her heart desire (what she likes and is interested in)…will she discover her most beloved gift to humankind and provide that service or product in exchange for value?  (Earn a living) 

Bill Gates snuck away to a college (don’t recall the details) that had one of the first computers.  Every spare moment was devoted to that intense interest and desire.  Edison had something like two weeks of formal education, but he found the information he needed to be one of the greatest inventors of all time.  All of his time was focused on what he loved and was interested in.  

When I was 10, I discovered an interest in health and fitness.  I had stacks of muscle and fitness magazines by the time I was a teenager.  (Which turned out not to be the best source of information, but it was a start!)

 

What would have happened if I had been able to commit 8 hours a day toward this study…even encouraged to discover more depth of knowledge in this interest?  What if my teacher taught me how to research and expand my knowledge in this field…to follow my heart and interest to its fullest?  

Obviously, I don’t know…nor does anyone else.  But I wonder!  

Malcolm Gladwell wrote a book called “The Outliers” several years ago.  An outlier is a person who achieves greatness in their profession.  People who put a lasting mark on their fields of expertise.  He shared the story of Bill Gates, plus Wayne Gretsky and the Beatles.  He shared stories of entire cultures who had risen to greatness.  And the common factor was time commitment.  

For example, the Beatles played in Germany in a club that stayed open until 5AM.  Other bands went home at 2AM.  That extra 3 hours per night in practicing their passion meant an additional 48 hours per month, and nearly 600 hours per year!  Then he described how Gretsky got more practice time.  Then the entire Canadian all star team…and how entire cultures of people found ways to get more practice time leading to greatness.

One example was  a certain group of immigrants to New York City.  He described how they, as a culture, fought to get their kids into advanced public school math programs, driving their kids in to classes before the sun was up or the bus was running, and staying after school until dark…and from that practice, led to a cultural innovation of a technology field.  

Practice.  And passion.  

The Beatles, Bill Gates, and the hockey greats were practicing their art form.  The passion of the NYC immigrants was to rise above the oppression of their homeland.  

Gladwell counted the hours, and discovered that there was some magic about the 10 thousand hour mark.  If you practice ANYTHING for 10 thousand hours, you will be among the outstanding greats in your field, and people will pay you to experience your talent.  (No job required!)

He also noted that you must LOVE your art form or talent, because 10 thousand hours is a long time to practice, before you make a living from it.  Most people opt for the security of a job and a paycheck rather than struggle in practice for so many years!  

When I was 25, I had graduated with a doctoral degree, and in two years had three failed attempts at making a living in my trade.  The fourth attempt was so painful (mobile chiropractor), that I filled out an application for a j-o-b.  Entry level position, but a secure paycheck every week.  The interviewer was in shock…he said he couldn’t take me on…it was an expensive process finding and hiring good help, and certainly I would want to return to my field of expertise.  

Great…my education path had created un-employability!  I knew a bunch of information…anatomy, chemistry…but the reality is that I had around 200 hours in practice.  I was a beginner…a novice…a hack.  If I were a piano player, people would pay me to stop playing.  

But I had to practice…there was no other choice.  So I did…I found some other chiropractors willing to put a novice into practice, and my exchange was moving 1,300 miles away from “home.”  I felt like I had no choice.

It’s funny…in medicine/health care, we call our job a “practice.”  And practice I did.  I discovered that Chiropractic was not my passion.  (whoops…that left a 100K debt on my financial statement!)  I kept practicing my interests, and found the information I needed, well outside the environment of school.

Somewhere around the early 2010’s, I hit 10 thousand hours of practice using applied kinesiology and integrated natural medicine.  I have achieved results that look something like greatness…amazing stories of healing…leading people from extreme discomfort to comfort and happiness.  

I was still a little “off” of my true-heart-passion, however.  My evidence...I struggled financially, and even despite some “greatness” experiences, felt unsure of myself.  I kept practicing my passion on myself…which turned out to be ‘creating happiness’…locating resources outside my profession, and practicing in my own family, until…I started to really feel it (happiness).  Not "I can live with this" but Deep connection, acceptance, authenticity, trust, significance, contribution…  

My children proved to be primary educators in my passion…becoming happy.  

Just last year, I was urged by a patient to teach her how to be happy…specifically through teaching a seminar about that topic and the resources I had accumulated to increase happiness.  But…no…I was a novice…a hack.  Only a few hundred hours practiced.  

She kept asking…here and there…and finally I was brave enough to say yes.  I held my first happiness group with 15 people…and I sucked so much that 10 quit.  But the 5 that stuck with it…over 12 weeks…shared amazing stories of life altering happiness!  

I gained the confidence to bring it more into my practice…and my practice time is adding up…10 thousand hours is still a few years away, but I am completely happy in my practice (both versions of the word).  

As this happened, the struggle seemed to dissipate…as I connected more deeply to my passion, my bills seemed easier to pay!  

Back to kids learning.  I was voted class devil…I spent a few different nights in jail…I was very angry inside…very anxious inside…

What if that is the resistance to NOT following heart desire?  What if that stress and anxiety were my signals to keep focusing on heart desire…and when I finally do (did), all of life falls into place?  What if my education slowed my connection to heart and true passion?  (Although I believe that everything happened just as it needed to get me here)

I don’t know…and neither do you.  

I do know that Savannah was not happy.  She got sick more often, headaches, and seemed depressed at times.  And, just as a general rule, I try not to do things that increase sickness, pain, and depression.  Savannah is a unique individual, and each unique individual has to discover their own heart passion.  We felt that school was not increasing that.  

Can it be ok that she does it differently…more like Bill Gates and the Beatles?  I personally ask Savannah for advice, and even for money on one occasion.  She is 12, and seems to have things figured out better than I do at 44.  

Until she goes to school…there, she learns she is “behind,” needs “special consideration,” and is so “different” that one boy was punished for pointing out her difference.

At home, she is rich…makes money easily…through her consideration and talent.  She is valued as a special gift to her parents and everyone she encounters.  She is energetically attractive to all people, and all people want more of her once they experience her.

I have found through education (in resources such as the book I mentioned), and through my experience and practice…that moving toward and into that experience (I am of value, important, and desired) is what brings fulfillment and wealth.  My learned (experienced) rule is…NOTICE what increases stress and strain…and do less of that…NOTICE what increases ease and comfort…and do more of that.  

And it will be unique to every individual.  The NYC immigrants increased ease and comfort by going to public school MORE…Savannah finds the same by staying home.  

I am fully convinced that this strategy is effective toward happiness. 

I also acknowledge that I have NO CLUE.  (And therefore would never criticize another path!)  I have had the experience of stress and strain while trying to fit in to a structure and do the “right thing.”  I have also had the experience of ease and comfort when following my heart, even if it is not the “right thing.”  That is very real to me.  

My goal for Savannah, and the rest of my tribe, is to follow her heart.  Do what they want to do, and trust that God and nature will provide for them.  To connect to the innate need to contribute to community through that…whether it is the beauty of art, helpfulness of doctoring, or innovation of invention.  

I don’t know how that happens, exactly…and neither do you. But I wonder...