Learning from Kids

I have been a life-time student. The more I learn, the better I am at learning. Learning could keep you young and keep you growing while you grow old. Only very recently I realized growing older does somehow impair your ability to learn. First, in no time, Sienna sang out loud the whole song that I was trying hard to catch. “Mommy, you see, I don’t need singing lessons,” said she at the end of it. So sure, so easy -- all piece of cake for her.

Her piano lesson was another reminder of how age makes a difference between us. She only had a few lessons. Yet she picked up so fast and remeber all the notes in no time. It’s like a blank sheet of paper, every stroke makes a most definite impression. And look at Rachel, she didn’t just learn how to singing, she even learnt so well how to teach others sing. Me, on the other hand, learning to sing is about to mobilize my senses to feel, look for shortcuts, and analyze the body instrument...

After a brief reality check of my own limit that comes with the age, I chose not to let it get in my way of learning. We might not be as fast as them because we got too much on the paper already. But we could be better at analyzing and associating, also crucial to the learning. We also need to keep our openness to learn from them. On the phone tonight, I heard Rachel sing and she heard me sing. She told me that I made big improvement in two days. And I believed she didn’t say it to please me. If this is not fun, then what?