Learning to Love Learning

Hi Guys,

     What is learning to you? What comes to mind when you think of learning. I think of school, long classes, and longer homework assignments.  I think mostly about how much time and effort it takes to learn. Most of the time when we think about learning it has a certain note of displeasure. We have been trained in a way to dislike learning because of all of the time and effort it takes to do so. We as a society get so caught up in this worlds instant gratification. If we don't know something we can just type it into a search box and in a instant have more knowledge at our finger tips than we know what to do with. We then do a short search for the most simplistic answer we can get and then our curiosity is filled and we forget all about what we searched for. I just have to raise the question did we really learn anything out of this short experience? Or, will we have to repeat the whole process when a similar question, or even the same question, arise again.
   
     There is a much larger meaning to learning than just to learn. What is learning? Just a bunch of random answers and facts to memorize? I believe it is more than that. Learning is more about learning how to learn. It is about being able to take a question about the world around you and being able to find an answer. We are suppose exercise our minds and try to grasp concepts that we as individuals and as a world have yet to understand. There is always something new to understand. When we learn something new it should, and usually does, open up a whole new or different concept. Take for example when a child first learns to talk. They start to understand new worlds, then they learn the alphabet, then they learn to spell, and to write sentences, paragraphs, and eventually papers. Then you look at how that opens up to whole other languages and how to write and read in those languages. It is a never ending expansion of where we can go with just one small piece of information.

That is just one reason to love learning. The fact that it never ends, there is always something else out there to learn. Another reason to love learning is because all the knowledge that we gain helps us develop ourselves. The more you understand about how the world works and how people think and human tendencies; the more you will understand who you are and what you stand for. You will begin to understand what makes you who you are and understand how that effect the people around you. Which leads me to another reason to love learning. You can always take what you learn and use it to help others. every skill you obtain through learning can be used to help your fellow human beings.
   
     One important thing to understand though is that you can't force yourself to love learning. I think it comes from a desperate desire to want to know more and to understand the things around us. A desire for learning, I feel, comes from another desire that requires knowledge.

One Phrasers to Ponder On:
- Failure is a learning opportunity
- You have to teach your kids to learn to learn in the home because it is not taught anywhere else.
- There is no such thing as a passive learner.
- Knowledge = Confidence in ones abilities.

LDS Perspective
The Holy Ghost is the teacher who helps us obtain a love for learning. The Holy Ghost is a great teacher to all of those who will listen to and heed its promptings. I then have to ask: If we do not want to learn and do not look for learning opportunities, does that mean that we do not want the companionship of the Holy Ghost?

Resources for this post can be found in the resources tab. Number's 1 and 2.
These two articles do this topic more justice than I do.


Thanks everyone for taking the time to read about learning. There is a lot of information that I did not cover because it would be impossible for me to explain everything. But I hope this give you enough information that you will want to know more.

Please feel free to ask me anything. (There is a comment section below.) No question is a bad question. I want this to be a place of discussion and learning.

Thanks Again!!!!

This Blog Needs A Face Lift

Hey Everyone!

I have official decided not to give up on my blog just because it is not an assignment for a class!
I just kind of stop posting but never stopped wondering if I would enjoy bloging more if it were on my own terms. So! This is attempt number two of trying to be a crazy bloging fool. I really like sharing what I have been learning and I have so much that I want to share with everyone. I enrolled in a parenting class this semester and it has been a blast! In the next week or two I hope to write 4 or 5 post to catch you all up on what I have learned this far. Hopeful I will be able to give you guys some better opportunities to share your thoughts and questions.

Just a little sneak peak of what the topics of the next posts will be:
- Learning to Love Learning
- Parenting Based on Principles
- Types of Parenting
- A Child'sTemperment
- Rewards and Punishments
- Kids and Technology

I am really excited about all of these topics and can't wait to hear what you guys think!

Also, I hope you guys like the new look of the site. If you guys are having a hard time navigating the site or something is difficult to find or read please let me know.

Thanks so much for reading!

Communication

Once upon a time I struggled to put my thoughts together into a coherent paragraph that others would understand and be edified by. This is that moment. In all seriousness though, I really am not sure how to describe what I have learned in this section. Which is ironic because it is about communication. I seriously have pages of notes, but it is so random it can not be organized into one or two thoughts. So I will ramble until something comes to me. 

In the last post I talked a little about how important communication is. This week we talked about what kind of communication we should use. Communication is more than just the words you say. You communicate with your body movements, with your eyes, and with your tone of voice. Humans can pick up on the littlest things that can completely change the meaning of your words. For example when we use sarcasm. We say one thing but actually mean the complete opposite. It can be quite confusing and cause a lot of  problems in communication. When we are speaking we need to know first of all what we are saying and then we need to be clear. It often helps to repeat back in our own words what others have said in order to fully understand. If we are right in our understand the other person will confirm it and if it is wrong they will correct us and help in our understanding. I think over all though we need to be open and involved in the conversation You have to want to come to a consensus not just a conclusion. We are not trying to win a fight, we are trying to come up to the best solution for each other and our family.

Well that is pretty short and kinda jumbled thoughts, but I hope it was a little informative. Thanks so much for reading! Questions always welcome!

Crises

A family can grow closer together or they can fall apart during a crisis.

First I want to define crisis. A crisis is a dramatic emotional or circumstantial upheaval in a person's life. It is also important to point out that a crisis calls for a change. You have to cope with what has happened, it is not just something that a person or a family has to get through. It is much bigger than just something that is stressing a family. It is very important that a family councils together as they deal with a crisis situation. One thing we talked about in class was how a families reaction completely changes the outcome and experience of the family. There was a formula we talked about, it goes like this:
           Actual events
            Both responses and resources
 +        Cognations                           
 Total eXperiences

My own family has had many different crises. I was thinking of a few things my family has been through and want to share an example or two to help explain. The first experience I want to talk about is the pasting of my Grandmother. This is my fathers mother. She pasted away in the year 2000. She was sick for a very long time before passing, She had been battling with cancer. I was only 8 years old when she passed so I don't remember everything, but I do remember my parents reaction. I remember that my parents sat me down individually and they explained to me what happened. I remember there were tears but that it was peaceful. My parents explained their own beliefs (which have become my own beliefs over time and study) about where grandma was now. We took each day as a family. We talked about grandma and the things we loved about her, and about memories that we had of her. I heard a lot of stories from my fathers childhood I had never heard before. The one thing I really remember is that I realized during this time how important family was. This realization has shaped a lot of who I have grown up to be. We chose, as a family, to support each other and to be happy together. I think 100% that this made us grow closer together.

The second crisis I want to talk about is something my family is currently working through. I can only give you my perspective of this situation. I can not pretend to understand my families thoughts or perspectives. When I was about 9 or 10 my older brother moved out of the house. Over the years our family has had difficulty with the decisions that he has made. He made a lot of decision that we saw as wrong, inappropriate, and contrary to our beliefs. During this time I was never really in on what all was happening. I often ease dropped on conversation to try to figure out what was going on with my own family. I understand trying to protect me but honestly I wish someone would have explained to me. My mother was very upset and depressed. my father was very quite on the subject. And my brother and I were never close enough for him to even want me to be a part of what was happening in his life. So I was left to myself and my own thoughts. I don't know if everyone just thought that it didn't effect me or that i wasn't really a part of it, but I have learned that if one thing happens to one person in a family it happens and has an effect on everyone.  I also think that this principle is part of what is helping us get this figured out now. My family fell apart during this time. We tried to be together and tried to be there for each other but we just weren't. Over time we have started to heal, and honestly we still are. We are talking to each other more, and trying to understand each other. It will take a lot of time and effort, we have been dealing ( or not dealing with it at some points) for almost 12 years.

What I would say that I have really learned from this section is how important family communication is. It determines so much of your experiences. When you share your thoughts, feelings, and understanding; family grows together.

Thanks for reading. I really appreciate it. I hope that my post are helping someone some where. Heaven knows that I have learned a lot from this class. If you have any questions about anything, please ask. Even if I haven't talked about it. I would love to explore new material with your help.

Marital (Physical) Intimacy

Alrighty!
So today's class was about marital intimacy. To open up the class we talked about how married people are the ones that report the most satisfaction out of their sexual lives. Which actually made a lot of since as we continued talking through out the class. We then talked about the differences between males and females in their responses. It was discussed that men usually are aroused much quicker than women. Men reach orgasm much faster and often are already coming out of the high point before many women even fully reach orgasm. The comment was made that guys are like a microwave and women are like an oven (or a crock-pot).
   We then talked about some of the challenges that couples face and then some of the opportunities that come from physical intimacy. Challenges may include:
- Time
     This can include what I talked about above, or it can be the actual lack of time to be intimate.
- Critical of each other
     The issue  of men being done quickly came up again. Women can feel like he doesn't really care or want  to be with her. It was also said that men want to be physically intimate more often which makes the woman think that he is a pig using her for her body. Both of which are untrue and can be explained.
- Hurt
     Very similar to being Critical and thus hurting your spouses feelings.
-Tired
      This can cause the previous two points.
And all of these can cause an avoidance of intimacy at all and thus create a void in the marriage. Marital Intimacy is very important for a marriage. It creates a bond between husband and wife. It brings your spouse and you closer together.

Which brings us to the opportunities that come with physical intimacy.
- Learning to work together
- Learn consideration of your spouse and their needs
- Become at least as concerned as they are about themselves.
- Feel Loved and Supported

There is just one more thing that i want to touch on to wrap this up. I think it is really important to understand. We talked about how being physically intimate with multiple people can really mess up your ability to trust people and to be able to get close to people. Even holding hands and kissing passionately with multiple people can do this. I think you stop trusting people and getting close because when you are physical with a person you get attached to them, and then when you or they move on to another person so easily it hurts. It gives up your self worth. You are not getting the commitment and your intimate needs met. And I meant Intimate as, yes physically, but also emotional and getting the attention and respect all human beings need.

I think that is all for this post. Thanks for reading! Please ask questions!

Early Marital Adjustments

     This week we talked about the first little part of a marriage. There are many adjustments that need to be made in the first week, month, and year of a marriage. The first day we talked about some of the problems that can occur in a marriage. We talked about two things in particular as examples of some of the challenges that can arise.
1.) Shared living space
     Our conversation about this was really funny. We talked about how hard it can be sharing a bathroom. You have your own morning routine that you have gotten use to over the years. Throwing another person into the routine can really mess you up. You have a place for all your stuff, or you don't care where your stuff lands. this can be frustrating to the other person. We talked about how guys generally don't clean their bathroom, and how girl will hang things up all over in the bathroom. The whole point was that you have to collaborate and work together.
     I actually got to apply this Monday night with my roommates. We have been struggling with shared living areas. Stuff gets left all over the bathroom counter, dish pile in the sink, and one roommate would sleep on the couch at night and be there until late into the afternoon. So we decided to have a meeting so we could talk about these issues. We talked about just having respect for the other people that live in the house. It can be hard to change your habits but you can try to change those things that are upsetting to others. I think it is about dealing with somethings people do, adjusting, and being patient with other things.
2.) Figure problems out together
     That last thought goes into the next topic well. in order to solve problems you have to communicate and work them out together. If you don't talk about issues it just make the issue worse or makes new ones.  There were two really great thoughts I picked up form class. The first was the marriage is a learning process. You should be becoming better through the marriage. If you are not communicating you are not going to learn anything. Just like if you went to class and your professor doesn't say a word. You will learn very much, because you only have your own thoughts. You can do the reading and homework but you only get so much out of that. I hope that makes some sense.
     The second thought is "coming together and becoming one is divine, it is not natural." This probably goes better with the first though of living spaces. It is hard to become one with another person and thus not natural. It is natural for man to put forth the least amount of effort needed. We take short cuts, we do enough to keep the other person satisfied but not quite happy, and, honestly, we do just enough to get by. This isn't divine. Becoming one is divine, as I quoted. Trying your best to understand one another, talking about what is best for your family, becoming one in thoughts and actions, and both contributing to the way your family runs.
 
     I learned a lot from this section about marriage. It's not that I didn't know that you need communication in a marriage, but now I understand better why. It isn't simply to get a task accomplished. It is more divine than that. I guess I just really loved seeing how it contribute to becoming one with your spouse and then both of you becoming one with God.

Hi Everybody!
This week we talked about dating and preparing for marriage!
        I have a ton of homework this week which is prohibiting me from writing as much as I would like to. But I will try to give a quick over view of what we talked about and hopefully will do it a little justice.
        We talked about love and tried to define it.  There was one definition in our reading that I really like it says:
"I define love thus: The will to extend one’s self for the purpose of nurturing one’s own or another's spiritual growth." - M Scott Peck
        Then talked about 4 different types of love.

Agape- Not based on feelings. 

Storge- Parent to child love.
Eros- Romantic, sexual, and passionate.
Phillia- Closeness, friendly, or brotherly love.

         We talked about how we really should have all of these different kinds of love for our spouses. each is important to making a marriage work. I personally would want all of these different kinds of love in my marriage. I think each has a place and a purpose.

        My favorite part of this week was when we talked about the parallels of dating and marriage. A real date consists of three things.

-Planned
-Paid For
-Paired Off
Those three things can be related to the three roles that a husband, according to the family: a proclamation to the world, should have.
-Preside
-Provide
-Protect

        I don't know why I love this part of the week so much. I guess that it just proves that you are suppose to be looking for things that your date does that would roll over into marriage as a spouse. It was just really interesting to me. And I have been thinking about it a lot. It is just one of those thing I love to ponder on.I am really out of time this week. I hope that this made you think. again if you have questions, comment, thoughts, don't be afraid to comment. Thanks!