Yesterday I took a deviation from my standard topic of young adults through real adults wrestling with writing papers, red tape in education, and their own internal motivation. I talked about a new middle school teacher and how excited I was for her students. I shed years writing that post, in part because it was like going back in time to middle school myself. Today I want to go back even further. “Where Did He Learn That?” is about my very young son. You can read the Fatherhood Blog for more information abut him, but it occurred to me (as I sit here in my chair with a laptop watching my son) that education starts very young and it starts at home. Being a parent, a student, and an educator (albeit one for far older students) constantly makes me think about how our son is learning what he’s learning. My father-in-law recently asked the pointed question, “where did he learn that,” concerning our son’s first stint at a drum kit on grandpa’s knee. And it got me thinking.
Where did our son learn how to drum? I mean, clearly he’s not an excellent drummer or anything, but his knowledge of what the sticks were, that he could use a foot pedal, that he should hit all of the different drums and cymbals, and that it all relates to music (since he was singing while playing) was interesting. And the question grandpa asked (himself a drummer for decades) was interesting as well. How did he know? As I sat here this morning it occurred to me that my wife and I have intentionally created a home filled with music, musical instruments (albeit not drums), and have attempted to make that art form a part of our children’s lives. From watching a concert together to listening to some children’s songs on the internet, our son has seen drumming (and drums) alongside instruments he knows (guitar, piano, microphone, etc…) and that has led him to “learn” to drum. Not at the level of an expert, but more so than someone his age (2) who didn’t care about music or hadn’t experienced it visually (in order to connect sounds with visuals and actions). As a student, my sons example reminds me to learn in many different ways. Hear, see, and do.