How Do You Know Everything?

 “How do you know everything?”

All my talk about cumulus, cirrus, and stratus clouds had seemingly exposed the philosophical heart of one of students. Although I responded to the question rather lightly, I’ve certainly been chewing on it ever since. How do I know everything I know? My response about how I’m older and therefore more experienced now sounds more like an excuse than an answer. I honestly think I missed a prime opportunity to let them in on a deep, dark secret called… lifelong-learning.  

If I could find a way to navigate through space and time, this is what I would now tell them. Very slowly. In ESL-friendly language:

“Starting now, develop an innate desire to learn on your own. Learning, however, is more than memorizing facts and giving responses you know that people want to hear. It is about connecting, transferring, and recalling obtained knowledge in new situations. It is about constructing a better self to make a better world. Here are some tips to keep in mind if you want to be on the road to wisdom by age 23:

1.    If you like reading, start collecting magazines about nature, space, machines, whatever makes your socks go up and down. Go back to them multiple times: cut out pictures, test yourself on what you remember, find out more about the things that interest you. Give impromptu presentations to your classmates about cool things you’ve learned or about a cause that speaks to you. Cover your binders and duotangs with cut-outs from your favourite mag. Only throw out the magazines when you’re in high school and can’t read them due to all the missing pages and pictures.

2.    Encourage your parents to purchase you informative placemats. My parents did not need persuasion, but some mums and dads might cave in to your Hello Kitty and Transformer desires, despite your best interests. A placemat is responsible for me knowing how long a blue whale is without researching it, guys. Another placemat is accountable for my ability to draw the map of Canada freehanded with noticeable accuracy. Go buy some better placemats.

3.    Don’t ever consider life boring. When I was in about grade four, I told the school secretary that I was bored. She looked at me sternly and said: “Only boring people are bored.” The next time I felt bored, I assure you, I took care of business. First, I got my hands on some cardboard (which my mother keeps in ample supply in the attic, in case the government ever outlaws boxes or something). Second, I began to construct my own board game. Third, I tried to play my board game. Fail. Fourth, I began to acknowledge the effort and ingenuity that goes into such ventures. I now privately pay my respects to the inventor before indulging in any sort of board game.

4.    Care. Be angry. Be concerned. Shake your fist in the air and damn poachers to the grave. Your empathy, exasperation, exhilaration, exaltation are simply signs of a healthy heart and a soul that has a lot of room for growth.

See, kids, learning is about trying to make yourself expand in a variety of directions. It is not about taking the advice of those who you admire uncritically, but rather about evaluating it yourself and taking what works. Also, remember to look into even those things that you don’t agree with. Find out more about what scares you, what angers you, what makes you roll your eyes. Everything has a beginning and the beginning’s often followed by a frighteningly long story that will enrapture you…

Oh, and if you’re still wondering about the clouds… you can thank Danny Dancose, my grade eight science teacher.”