Learning Anew.

There's a certain part of me that would much prefer to be a learner than an instructor.  As a learner you are responsible only for yourself, rather than the learning outcomes of an entire classroom, which is the plight that awaits each teacher.  (Though, I must say one of the greatest delights as an instructor is when your students get it--that is, that magical moment when the lightbulb turns on, or however that expression goes).

I have the opportunity to wear both hats this semester as both teacher and learner.  As a student I can be somewhat of a nerd if I want to, though I'm NOT one of those types whose never made below an A-.  That's just gross.  What I can't shake, though, is the sense of competitiveness that sometimes propels me to absurd expectations of myself.

I'm learning language if you haven't guessed already.  Learning language is different than say, learning other subjects.  Humbling is a good way to put it, though I know that there are more eloquent dissertations written on this whole language acquisition process.

For now, I'm laughing at myself as I'm learning to read characters.  Last week I had this moment of actually thinking about what I sound like as I try to read and it reminded me of the Sesame Street two-headed monster when they slowly sandwich two parts of a word to read as one complete word.  Oh the delight when the two parts read as one!

Elementary studies yield elementary joys .