| I can't believe that Sawyer's graduated from high school and will be off to college in a few months. It's so bittersweet. Especially as it seems like only yesterday you were bringing me dinner in the hospital the day she was born – it was wedding soup from my favorite Italian restaurant. |
| Well, since that has now become one of her favorite restaurants, that is where we should go to celebrate the start of her exciting new journey. |
| Exciting is an understatement. As soon as she finished her Zoom session with the orientation team at Belmont University, she came downstairs and talked a mile a minute about all the incredible course offerings, and before I knew it, she opened her laptop and was going through everything with me. |
| When she showed it to me, I was impressed by the range of courses available, and it made me want to go back to college. But, I was most impressed by her enthusiasm and commitment to opening herself up to opportunities that she might not have previously considered. |
| I know! For years, starting when we taught at KIPP Houston High School, you've told students that college was a step-along-the-way, not a destination. And the perfect opportunity to try new things. |
| I also said, "Homework never ends; it just is called 'research' when you get older." |
| Yes, although they didn't like hearing that. Most people think that once you walk across the stage to get your diploma, you're done. But I found out the hard way that learning never ends. And it wasn't until I was 40+ years old! |
| And, unlike when you were in school and wanted to learn, you initially resisted learning anything new. You created mental roadblocks and were your own worst enemy. |
| Fine. I didn't think I could "do" personal finance until you made me try. And although I may not like doing it, it was truly a life lesson. And not just for me, but for Natasha and Sawyer, as I was able to share what I learned with them. |
| You may not have proactively wanted to become a lifelong learner, but sometimes you have no choice. For example, when you resigned yourself to get over your resistance to technology. And, FYI, "learning to adapt" is a great skill to have. |
| I'm not sure I'd call it a skill so much as the fear of you giving me grief for not "getting over it". Like a few weeks ago, when I was on my iPad and "fell off" of our Zoom business meeting. I just wanted to let you continue and update me later rather than figure out how to rejoin the meeting on my computer, but I knew that wasn't an option. |
| You figured it out, and quicker than I expected. Zoom meetings are an excellent example of how the pandemic has forced people to learn new things. Research shows that people who are adaptable, who are willing to learn new things, who embrace change are ultimately the most successful. |
| I don't know if you're talking personally, or in the workplace, or both, but I've never thought of "being adaptable" as a skill. But it makes sense since none of us knows what the future will look like. After all, if someone had told me when Natasha was born that one day, I'd be on a video "phone call" with her on another continent using a computer I could hold in my hand, I'd have thought they were crazy – not only about the technology but about my ability to use the technology. |
| Exactly. School can only teach you what is known at the time. After that, you are on your own. Although I find it ironic that educators stress the need to develop lifelong learners, yet the education "system" still does things the way they have always been done. Sounds like, "Do as I say – not what I do." Regardless, I believe a critical part of learning comes from trying new things, taking chances, and even failing, as long as you learn from your mistakes. |
| As a mom, letting your children "fail" goes against your instincts to protect them, although conceptually, I understand that sometimes that's the only way to learn. Plus, as much as I'd like to tell them what to do, if I do, they'll never learn to make their own decisions. I know I'll miss Sawyer a lot when she goes off to college, just as I did when Natasha moved abroad. But I also know that she'll be learning more than what's taught in the classroom as she'll be learning how to live away from home. |
| Yes, there are many things to be learned from living life … they are called "life lessons" for a reason. But, like learning anything else new, you need to be open to the concept. |
| Easier said than done! Unlike you, who approaches everything with a positive mindset and a love of learning, us"mere mortals" find that learning new things isn't always easy and can be uncomfortable. |
| That is where you have to find the right motivation – whether it is to improve aspects of your personal life, advance your career, or just make life more interesting without necessarily having a specific objective. |
| That's how Sawyer's approaching her academic "life" at college – open to learning new things and going in new directions. Unfortunately, that's something that often gets lost or put to the side once we leave school. Unless we're forced into it. |
| Whether proactive or reactive, it does not change the fact that you are never too young or too old to be a lifelong learner. |
Want to read other columns? Here's a list.
Background image by IlijaErceg on iStock
Take a moment and imagine not being able to read this sentence. Now, think about this … if you’re reading this, you’re doing something millions of Americans can’t.
|
I’ll admit that I never realized how many people can’t read.
It’s something I’ve always taken for
granted. That’s until Black and I met
someone doing something about it – Jackie Aguilera, now the Project Manager for
the Mayor’s Office of Adult
Literacy (Houston). Her focus
wasn’t only on reading literacy but on “literacies” I’d never heard of, such as
financial literacy, health literacy, and digital literacy. But it all starts
with the ability to read. |
|
It
is called functional
literacy. Obviously, if you
are reading this article, you are on the internet. Which has more information than anyone can
possibly absorb (and is why news literacy is so critical). Now,
imagine if you could not read. All that
information … just sitting there.
Available to others, but not to you. |
|
Books are my great escape. Always have been. So, I can’t
imagine a life without them. |
red head
assets.rebelmouse.io
Black
assets.rebelmouse.io
|
A great escape … in many ways. You may use it to escape from the stresses of
daily life or just as entertainment. But,
books and, more specifically, the ability to read is how people can escape a
life of poverty and limited opportunities.
|
| Working with Jackie made me see that. As did our work with the criminal justice system, as so many incarcerated people struggle to read. And I know you’re a data geek, but please don’t start quoting me statistics. |
| OK, no statistics, but did you know that more people in the US are affected by low literacy (meaning they cannot read at a sixth-grade level) than are diagnosed with cancer or heart disease? |
Over the years, as we’ve learned how many people can’t read (including one in three Houstonians), it’s made us stop and think about how that impacts every aspect of their lives … their families … their communities. And also … our communities and our country.
As former First Lady Barbara Bush said many years ago,
If you help a person to read, then their opportunities in life will be endless.
| I have a confession to make, which I’m sure will make you roll your eyes. |
| Interesting caveat and probably true. |
| Every time we talk with Jackie (Aguilera) from the Mayor’s Office of Adult Literacy and hear what she’s doing in the world of adult education, I feel like I’m back in school and having to take copious notes. |
| I am more than happy to send you “homework assignments” as I come across relevant articles and research. |
| Thanks, but no thanks. I’ll stick to taking notes. But that does explain why you’re so knowledgeable about literacy. |
| But, reading information is very different from being at the forefront of literacy innovation. And, if we had never met Jackie, I never would have realized how literacy is about more than reading and writing. |
| But that alone is such a critical part of all of our lives and can make the difference between struggling and success. Although I never stopped to think about any of that before we met Jackie. |
| The funny thing is we first met her because of financial literacy. |
| Yes, I remember, even though it was over a decade ago. It was shortly after our book was approved as a financial literacy textbook by the (Texas) State Board of Education, and you decided we should go to a Houston Money Week meeting. I didn’t think we were qualified to talk about the topic. |
| I did not feel qualified to decide whether or not we could be of any help until I better understood what they did. |
| That’s why I let you do the talking when “newbies” had to introduce themselves. Plus, I’d have talked their ears off. But after the meeting, this confident but very approachable woman came striding across the room, extended her hand to me, and introduced herself. At the time, she was Literacy Coordinator at EastSide University. |
| All I remember was her energy, commitment, and passion for financial literacy. Not usually a topic discussed with such enthusiasm. |
| There’s an understatement. And not only did it take me by surprise, but I hate to admit it, it was contagious. Especially once we started working with her. |
| Another confession? |
| Maybe. I still shake my head in amazement at the incredibly creative ways she makes personal finance, typically such a “boring” topic, come alive. And how she uses outside-the-box approaches to making learning relevant. |
| But, it is not only financial literacy. It also includes digital literacy, health literacy, and even news literacy and environmental literacy. Which is why I am honored that she asked us to create various “Conversation Starters” she could use at presentations and workshops. |
| I never imagined they could be used to talk about serious concepts in a light-hearted and fun way. Even if she points out how I was a poster child for not being “literate” when it comes to an assortment of life topics. |
| I dislike the term “literacy” because it makes people feel like they are “illiterate” when they do not know something. In reality, they may never have been exposed to the information or given an opportunity to learn it. |
| I can tell you first-hand that, initially, I felt stupid until you pointed out I was merely sheltered. But that’s given me so much more empathy when I think of other people in the same position I was once in. |
| That is why she likes the “Conversation Starters” – they make the topics accessible in a non-threatening way. |
| And helps us realize that literacy impacts every aspect of our lives since it is so much more than reading and writing. Raising awareness of that and talking about it with others, especially our families, can have a huge ripple effect. |
| That is the purpose of September being designated National Literacy Month. |
| September seems the perfect time to learn something new. It’s like being back in school, except you can put the knowledge to work immediately. |
| And, this year, with elections just months away, it is the perfect time to learn about news literacy. |
| Oh, I know better … |