learning how to learn (2)

Spend some years with the same group of people and it is soon clear that some people are always getting it and some people are just not. Part of this might be because I mostly practice with somewhat older people. People who are already largely set in their ways, who nod their heads during class but don’t actually change how they move or think.

But there are plenty who do get it. When corrected one week, they come back the following week with different motions and changed ideas. They make progress, short-term and long-term. They seem more open and flexible in all areas. There is one woman who I immediately noticed is very good with children – she tries to enter their world, to see things from their perspective. And, a seasoned grandparent, she asks the parent about how to best interact with each child. This feeling really seems to cross into all areas of her life.

It is a softness of mind, an open welcoming of new ideas and adaptation to changing circumstances. These are the same people with whom it is easiest for me to communicate in Japanese – they actively listen to what I say and, if it comes out unnaturally, they softly rephrase with corrections, while keeping the conversation going. (Maybe it is that experience with children…)

They are also usually the ones who are listening and watching carefully when the teacher is demonstrating something, even if he is across the room at the time.

Then there are the others. Not listening to the teacher, or beginning to tell other people what the teacher just said when they think they understand it. These folks don’t make much progress. They have reached a certain level over the years and that is about as far as they are going to go. Maybe that is why they are driven to “instruct” others, to assure themselves of the progress they think they have made.

As for me, recently have begun some new activities which are challenging my sense of what it is to learn. At age 42, I have finally begun a heart-rattling challenge – to ride my bicycle without hands. (Do recall, I am the one who was reading books while standing out in right field during the baseball game. Old news for many people, this is a big step for me).

My neighborhood is filled with twirpy little kids effortlessly zooming around the block without hands. Meanwhile, I stretch it out a few extra meters each day before nearly careening to certain death by bouncing off a concrete wall. Laugh not at my middle-aged foibles, oh reader – my efforts have helped me realize how tough it is for my daughter, learning to ride her bike just these days.

She’ll be zooming around with no hands too before long, I suppose. I’m not a quick learner, but I don’t give up. And I’ll be watching her, trying to figure out how kids learn things so quickly.