The ritual of Walk to School is an important one, long unappreciated.

Neither difficult nor excessively long, the walk to school has always been an excellent way to start learning for the day. In a way I am thankful I am able to participate and guide. We neither rush nor dally, allocating sufficient time to allow for the mind to wander at will. The environment, grass, trees, the weather and sky are our teaching aids. There is the important skill of safely crossing the street to learn, one which needs to be learned well. Handling vehicular traffic is also covered. There is the final wave. I then return, thinking of how to plan my day.

My parents never had the luxury of the walk. While seemingly simple and available to everyone, economics dictates this gift. We were rushed off to the sitters early in the morning, and there was never time to dally and to allow the mind to wander. We were on a schedule. Nevertheless, is the walk such an important task? Is there anything to learn from the daily journey, repeated ad nauseum?

I opt to slow down to the pace of the walked. After all, I know much of this content already, so the walk is not as important for me. Everyone progresses at their own pace, and it is best to not push nor retard this pace. Of course one can encourage progression, but to push hard only results in resentment and the loathing of the subject matter. That would be worse than not having the walk at all.

The first lessons concern being prepared for school. Are the bags well packed for the day? Is outerwear and footwear sufficient. Lace tying is a skill to be learned. Is gear in good nick? Timing is also studied: too early and there will be boredom, and too late and there will be detention. As experience increases timing can be shaved closer, but there must always be a buffer of sorts. This buffer is at this time too complex for the walked.

The environment and science is the first lesson of the day. There is the changing of the seasons, when the trees go through their life cycle. Why does the tree bear fruit only to drop it and stain our shoes? Bother! We cover animals and how they eat, raise their young and store food for the winter. Crafty things, how they learn to steal from bird feeders. There is grass and dew. The moon in the morning? Really? What is fog? Cold and warm air mash it up to create noise, which reminds us about rain gear. It’s all so complex, but with time and repetition the learning does happen.

The geriatrics make their rounds and wave. Will we get old some day, and walk around in circles all day? Though they are nice they are a little odd. We should still be nice to them. We don’t stop to talk in the morning but an afternoon chat is Ok. I don’t know why.

Crossing the street is an important skill. One bad cross and the walker can end up in the hospital or worse. Car drivers are careless. Even school bus drivers are not safe. Be wary, watch for a safe opportunity and then be decisive. Hold back, think, then go for it. It’s complex, no doubt, and needs to be learned. Other walkers refuse to learn the skill, opting to rely on the trainer for guidance, but this perpetuates dependence and therefore retards learning. Daily practice of frogger reduces but does not eliminate the risk. After a sufficient training period, you let go and pass responsibility over. It sure is difficult but it will happen sooner or later.

Drivers are not to be trusted if at all possible. Just because people have a role does not mean they will behave safely. No, people are human and will often do what is best for themselves, without thinking of their effects on others. This is a key lesson for the walked. Shouldn’t the trainer heed the sign and teach their walked to look both ways? Yes, but different people learn in different ways. Sometimes the walked get hurt. Sometimes the trainers are not very responsible.

Is it Ok for the trainer to yell at their walkers to hurry up, while the trainers stop to pick other people’s flowers? That does not seem right. Making sense of the world is not easy.

To trust the trainer and to trust yourself is also a skill to learn. Who to trust? It’s all so complex.

The journey does matter after all.

The little weed struggles to crack the code of the printed word. Every little stumble, every time he guesses at a word, you can tell that these books intrigue him. His nose wrinkles, the gears within his head creak, yet the mechanism within is still far from mature. Yet he perseveres. Don’t think that he never thinks of quitting, oh no. As he gets tired, which does not take long, I can feel his temper rise ever so slowly, then peak, and as the end of the story nears, preceptively fall with a parting sigh for good measure. Thank goodness these kiddle books aren’t longer, for I fear the little pecker would simply blow a gasket.

It’s been a long time since I struggled with reading. To me reading is a skill as essential as breathing, and I do it just as naturally. On a regular basis I purposely put myself into learning “sink or swim” situations, but as a good project manager, of course I stack the deck my way so I have the distinct advantage. I get a thrill when I’m at the edge of a knowledge cliff and am forced to suck up knowledge like a sponge. It’s my knowledge based version of a Polar Bear Club outing. Perverse, in a way.

The little weed’s language acquisition skills are still forming. He reads the first letter of a complex word, looks at the pictures, and guesses at the word, given context. It’s a strategy that is quite admirable in a way, and creative in another. Story plots can lead down a completely different path as the pages turn leaf over leaf. Unfortunately, in reading, accuracy is also important. I try to steer him down the path set before him on paper by asking him to sound out his little stumbling blocks. I see the frown rise on his brow, but he knows me well enough to know I will not be swayed. A valiant sounding out try is as good as proper pronunciation, and he knows it. Progress is measured in small, imperceptible steps, yet they are progress nonetheless.

Learning a language is so completely different from other book or skill learning. On one hand language is so fundamental, the essential skill of communicating with fellow humans. How can one not possess this skill and, of course one must read well, right? Language skill acquisition, as I have learned from practical experience, is downright difficult and challenging. You can lock yourself away in a room and memorize vocabulary and grammar, but you are really only eating half of the pie. Out into the big wide world you go, and you flounder and despair, for you must be able to speak and well as listen and comprehend. Speaking requires you to swallow your pride, forget the lump in your throat and go for it, shaky legs and all. It is a skill not unlike learning to stilt walk. Similarly, why is it that now my ears are seemingly disconnected from my brain? Audible bits go in, but there seems to be a filter that slows down meaning transfer, as a word is received, then translated, then sent on. That takes precious time, and when I finally understand the first word spoken, the speaker is already on the seventh, and I’ve lost words two through six. The look of an idiot was never more fitting.

I often feel impatient with the little weed, as I so quickly and easily devour his book, and hope that he can soon breath as well as I can. I do feel for him, and this keeps my impatience in check. There is so much to learn in the world, but without the fundamental building block of reading, his house will never get built. One brick at a time he toils, each word learned over and over. He puts in a monumental effort and I applaud him.

I continue to learn everyday. The internet makes this continual search for knowledge convenient. All from the comfort of my kitchen. It’s a far cry from just a few years ago. While I’m a strong supporter of the internet, note that there are dangers that lurk, and there’s a great portion of life outside of the internet and computers. Are we destined to be stuck indoors in front of our collective computer monitors? I say not. Use the internet for research, but live life outside.