Knowledge
Today I am grateful for my son Sam's experience with the National Geography Bee and for the knowledge I have gained over nearly five decades of living.
Remember the old saying "Knowledge is power"? It is attributed to English philosopher Francis Bacon. He lived in the late 1500's. Knowledge can be loosely defined as familiarity, awareness, and understanding of something or someone. In my opinion, it can be both an empowering asset and a slippery slope.
Yesterday morning Sam competed in the school level of the National Geography Bee along with nine other students from his school. They were on stage in front of hundreds of other middle school students. Sam was nervous, but my husband and I just emphasized that we were proud he made it to this round, and that he should look at it as a good opportunity to gain experience being in front of others.
What struck me as I observed the participants and listened to the questions was how we aquire knowledge in so many different ways. Sure, we study and learn in school. But we pick up so much, particularly in terms of geography, by traveling and reading. I knew an answer about Anchorage, Alaska because I had been there. Sam would have known the answer to the question about Springfield, Illinois if it had been his question, because we were just there last summer, and he did a 4-H photography project of Lincoln based on a picture he took on the trip. The social studies teacher in me enjoyed answering the questions in my head, and I was even pleasantly surprised at how many I remembered. This is the kind of knowledge that can be empowering.
The slippery slope of knowledge plays out when it is abused and overused. When it becomes a way to pump oneself up while diminishing others. Or, in my case, the slippery slope of self-knowledge.In my late teens and early twenties I tried really hard to figure out why I drank too much, what my problem was/is, and why I failed to quit on my own. All of that thinking didn't really help. It kept me alone and stuck.
Today I am grateful for the others who helped me out of the bog of self-knowledge and continue to help me learn and grow today. Today, I try not to overthink life. I try to live it. Today, my self-knowledge is less about figuring it all out and more about balance and healthy choices.
Remember the old saying "Knowledge is power"? It is attributed to English philosopher Francis Bacon. He lived in the late 1500's. Knowledge can be loosely defined as familiarity, awareness, and understanding of something or someone. In my opinion, it can be both an empowering asset and a slippery slope.
Yesterday morning Sam competed in the school level of the National Geography Bee along with nine other students from his school. They were on stage in front of hundreds of other middle school students. Sam was nervous, but my husband and I just emphasized that we were proud he made it to this round, and that he should look at it as a good opportunity to gain experience being in front of others.
What struck me as I observed the participants and listened to the questions was how we aquire knowledge in so many different ways. Sure, we study and learn in school. But we pick up so much, particularly in terms of geography, by traveling and reading. I knew an answer about Anchorage, Alaska because I had been there. Sam would have known the answer to the question about Springfield, Illinois if it had been his question, because we were just there last summer, and he did a 4-H photography project of Lincoln based on a picture he took on the trip. The social studies teacher in me enjoyed answering the questions in my head, and I was even pleasantly surprised at how many I remembered. This is the kind of knowledge that can be empowering.
The slippery slope of knowledge plays out when it is abused and overused. When it becomes a way to pump oneself up while diminishing others. Or, in my case, the slippery slope of self-knowledge.In my late teens and early twenties I tried really hard to figure out why I drank too much, what my problem was/is, and why I failed to quit on my own. All of that thinking didn't really help. It kept me alone and stuck.
Today I am grateful for the others who helped me out of the bog of self-knowledge and continue to help me learn and grow today. Today, I try not to overthink life. I try to live it. Today, my self-knowledge is less about figuring it all out and more about balance and healthy choices.
Glad to hear that Sam had a good experience with the geography bee!
ReplyDeleteI think he's glad it is over, but it was a good experience. I couldn't have gotten in front of a crowd that size in 6th grade. But we would have had a hard time finding a crowd that size wouldn't we have? :-)
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