"learning"

"And whenever she had really learned something, it was when she had somehow contributed to it herself."

Sophie's World, Jostein Gaarder

Thinking about learning:

Feeling positive about what you're learning and also about your learning environment improves your ability to learn.

Your brain attempts to connect new information to what it has already stored. Increasing connections is part of learning.

Your brain wants "complex and meaningful challenges." Don't cheat it by avoiding intellectual challenges.

"The brain performs many functions simultaneously. Learning is enhanced by a rich environment with a variety of stimuli." Multi-tasking in CE9 works with your brain's natural ability.

CE9 Motto

"Choose to be
Smart!"

Playing dumb or doing "lazy" work gets us out of thinking for the moment and gets us back to "fun." But sooner or later, that tactic leaves us behind when our peers are going places we're not. No one can make anyone learn anything, but to be in school and be disconnected on purpose seems a waste of time and energy. Use your brain. It wants to be used.

About the painting: I chose this painting because it reminds me that perception influences everything we think and therefore everything we learn. Like this young man, we have a view before us. And how we perceive that view is affected by how we feel, what we already know, and how interested we are in what we see. We can choose to keep our minds open to the wide world of possibilities or not. It is up to us how we perceive everything around us.