Learning to read is a very important skill to acquire during the reinforcement phase. It is a key method of transferring ideas from bubble to bubble (it is the method by which you are now taking in the words of this essay). In chapter 3 of Audre Lorde's Zami: A New Spelling of My Name, Lorde shares her fond memory of the amazing Mrs. Baker, a librarian, who sparked her love for reading when she was 4-years-old and before she started traditional schooling. Mrs. Baker introduced Lorde to the wonders hidden within books and showed Lorde's mother that her daughter was, in fact, capable of speaking - instead of screaming - and sitting still for a length of time... long enough even to be taught how to write - the partner skill to reading, so that one's ideas may be expressed in the first place. On page 22, Lorde writes of Mrs. Baker, "If that was the only good deed that lady ever did in her life, may she rest in peace. Because that deed saved my life, if not sooner, then later, when sometimes the only thing I had to hold on to was knowing I could read, and that that could get me through." At the age of five, Lorde then started attending a sight-conservation class. This traditional school learning definitely took place in a structured setting, but it was far from safe. Instead of providing the students with helpful instruction and encouragement, the teachers put their pupils down and punished them by separating them into "good" and "bad" groups, depending on their current capabilities. For Lorde, during the time she should have been receiving reinforcing soapy solution, she instead began learning one of life's hardest and most important lessons: survival. Already being strong of mind and spirit, she had learn to maneuver around the sharp grass blades and ride the breeze to avoid being ruptured.
Parenting is a perfect example of a never-ending life lesson that is made up of smaller lessons that can only provide guidelines but no one-way formulas (you would not believe that though based on the numerous almanacs available, promising magical solutions to becoming a super parent). When you become a parent, you fall back on your own experiences and accumulated life lessons to try and provide a better life for your kid(s). One of the more difficult mini-lessons of parenting that you can learn is that your children are their own people, their own bubbles and need to make their own choices so that they can effectively navigate this world independently of you, instead of extensions or better copies of yourself. In the 1989 film Dead Poets Society, Neil Perry, one of the movie's main characters, had an extreme passion for acting, but this was not something his father approved of or saw a need for. Mr. Perry, after all, had worked very hard for many years to beat a path for his son to become a successful doctor. Near the end of the movie, when Mr. Perry discovers that Neil deceived him and took part in the school play, he says, "I don't care if the world comes to an
end tomorrow night. You are through with that play... I made a great many sacrifices to get
you here, Neil, and you will not let me down." What Mr. Perry did not realize was that by taking this joy from Neil, he was slowly taking the wind from his son's sails or rather, his bubble. With barely any air left, Neil had decided to take control of his life in the only way he knew how and he committed suicide.
During his TED Talk in 2006, Sir Ken Robinson spoke of the importance of nurturing creativity within all school systems instead of stifling it. Through the process of deductive reasoning, he stated, "...as children grow up, we start to educate them progressively from the waist up. And then we focus on their heads. And slightly to one side... you’d have to conclude the whole purpose of public education throughout the world is to produce university professors." Knowing your ABCs and 123s are extremely essential in becoming successful, but knowing oneself, acknowledging and making time to cultivate or enjoy one's nonacademic interests is equally as important. Extracurricular activities like music and acting help give people confidence in themselves and a sense of individuality in this sea of bubbles. This confidence strengthens a person and allows them to make an even more substantial and positive impact on the world. Traditional school learning is central to every society's growth as it affects every citizen. It is therefore every human being's responsibility to make sure their school system is up to par with not only educating its students in the basics like mathematics and language but also to make sure the environment provides them with support while learning the life lessons they may encounter in the same time period.
Life lessons are no more important than the lessons we learn in school - whatever form that may take. Both are required in creating a wholesome individual with integrity. Being book smart and being capable of logical thinking helps a person to navigate their way around the other bubbles with intent versus random floating. The life lessons enable people to empathize instead of just sympathizing. They allow for making deeper connections, for building on friendships and creating community... and community makes this unpredictable journey more colorful and less lonely.
Works Cited
Lorde, Audre. Zami: A New Spelling of My Name. The Crossing Press and W.W. Norton & Company, Inc, 1993. Page 22. Web. 4 June 2014.
Dead Poets Society. Dir. Peter Weir. Perf. Kurtwood Smith. Touchstone Pictures, 1989. DVD.
Robinson, Sir Ken. "How Schools Kill Creativity" www.ted.com, 2006. Web. 4 June 2014.
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