Summer is winding down as we enter the coming school year. We are getting our kiddos prepared for school by reading a bunch of books to them. Each morning we read where they repeat us to help them with speech. My oldest boy Craig is getting ready to start Kindergarten and boy is he excited!
I have been thinking about what education and schooling is all about. The definition I found and agree with most is that the word educate means “from within”. When you think about it, all education really does start within our minds, mixing with our past experiences and our talents and abilities. In my research I also found a great article on Forbes.com. It seems that there are many definitions depending on context. Context here is key. The article above talks about basically to be educated means to be smart.
Smart in what way though? Many folks that consider themselves dumb are actually extremely smart. They have just been measured according to a set standard or measuring stick that does not apply to their personal traits. They may not be educated in the sense of schooling but their experiences have given them an education that is specific to them.
This little comic is a fantastic representation of trying to “fit” everyone into a certain mold.
The monkey here will excel on the test and will be looked at as smart. Everyone else will feel different levels of dumb, and look at themselves as not very smart. Especially that goldfish. If the test was to swim the fish, penguin, and seal would excel.
I would not write yourself off as not very smart. I am sure your experiences in life have taught you many things that others do not know. You will excel as you take what you are smart in and run with it.
Henry Ford was thought to be dumb because he only had an eighth grade education. In fact many newspapers wanted to show how dumb he was so they setup a meeting where they would interview Ford and they put together some difficult questions and asked if he would be willing to answer them. He said sure. During the interview when they asked Ford a question he did not know he called someone who did know it. His belief was why fill my mind with all this information if others already have it. He focused on what he was good at and he excelled.
Life is about finding out what talents you have been blessed with and how you can make the world a better place using them.
I have been blessed with a talent when it comes to thinking 3-dimensionally. I enjoy 3D puzzles like Rubiks Cube, and working with clay through sculpting. These talents have led me to make the Wowflute and have led to this blog. I enjoy creativity and I believe it is the key to enjoying your work and education. Learning is an ongoing process that continually happens throughout life. I am glad for the opportunity to be a father and to see my children develop and grow in their learning and talents.
The Wowflute is an excellent little flute that is perfect for learning music wherever you may be. I have found that having a portable instrument I practice much more consistently. I can currently play over 100 songs that I have memorized on any Wowflute product. I believe that learning an instrument should be intuitive. This is why I have designed the Wowflute in a particular fashion. It is not designed to a standard musical notation because I feel this can impede the creative process.
So rather than the standardized ocarina fingering system I have developed a unique system based loosely on the Native American Flute. This makes it easier to play by ear.