I hate my teacher

People see only what they are prepared to see. Ralph Waldo Emerson 1803 – 1852 Every now and then, the daily comic strips offer some wonderful insights about life. A few years ago, the strip “For Better or Worse” contained a very good lesson. “For Better or Worse” is about a typical middle income family and the everyday problems they encounter. This particular installment was about the young son, who appeared to be roughly ten years old. The first frame showed the young boy venting to his classmate. “I missed recess and I had to write lines and I’m never …
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Learning to walk

We have met the enemy and it is us. The comic strip Pogo Walt Kelly 1913 – 1973 Some time ago, I was in the presence of a year-old child who was learning to walk. Watching a child going through this process can be fairly entertaining, since they have very little control at first. But they’re always eager to learn. She would take a few tentative steps and then either sit down or fall down. Everyone would clap, laugh and offer words of encouragement. When the child fell, someone would help her back to her feet and she would try …
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The value of experience

After crosses and losses, men grow humbler and wiser. Benjamin Franklin 1706 – 1790 We all know that experience is very valuable. But often, we mistake knowledge for experience. They are not the same. There are plenty of people dispensing advice based on knowledge they’ve acquired from others, but that advice is not founded on real world experience. Let me tell you a little story that will illustrate the point. One day, a lion decided he had a taste for rabbit, and he knew it would be much more productive if he got other hunters to join him. So he …
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