When I home-schooled my boys, I taught them that knowing the answers was a good thing; but, the BETTER thing was to know how to find the answers that you do not know!
I tried to focus on teaching them that more.
When I was a young mom and I was looking for help, often I would find myself without the help I needed because I didn't know how to ask the right questions. I didn't know what questions were right. I felt like if I asked, sometimes I would sound stupid, and I didn't want anyone to think I was dumb.
Thankfully, I was able to remember a teacher I had in sixth grade, who always started the class by saying, "The only stupid question is the one that you don't ask." Now, I ask all kinds of questions. If the person I am asking doesn't know the answer, I ask them who I could talk to that WOULD know the answer. I have learned to ask follow up questions, and I have learned that ignorance is only temporary, and that there is NO SUCH THING as IMPOSSIBLE.
The truth is, we are ALL dumb. Not one of us knows everything there is to know.
People have said they thought I was very smart. I've had people praise my intelligence and assume I could put a computer together from scratch because I was so smart.
The truth is, I know how to push buttons and read directions. That is ALL I know. I know that if I push the "enter" button, it's going post it. That is ALL I KNOW.
If I want to be a Call Center Specialist (something I have never done) over the computer (using equipment I have never used on the computer) then I have LEARN how (not KNOW how). So, I did that. I pushed buttons, and read directions, and I am still taking courses provided by the platform I am using to learn more as I go. And, best of all, it is all FREE!
As a home-school mom, I had to learn what my kids were learning as they learned it. I had to guide them with teacher's aids that explained how to teach them each lesson. I didn't need a college education to teach my kids, I just needed an education that taught me how to LEARN.
One of the things I most remember my Granddaddy Freeman saying all the time was "If you ever stop learning, then you've stopped living." He encouraged me to try to learn something new, even if it is small, to experience something new, to grow a little EVERY DAY.
Life isn't about getting to a place where you know it all. No. Life is getting to the place where you can be humble enough to realize you don't know enough, and be willing to learn more.
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