5. Learning Deeply, Mistakes, Deden

Immersion

Learning Deeply

Learning in Depth, by Kieran Egan, was recently shared. It’s a short article on the idea of exploring a topic (e.g. apples) for several years. The idea sounds crazy at first but gets more interesting as Egan makes the case for exploring apples in the context of poetry, literature, science, biology, etc. Although several years sounds like a long time, I’m reminded of a friend who spends a quarter exploring a new topic or idea:

I started a process almost ten years ago where I set aside a quarter’s worth of ancillary reading material around one topic. During that three-month period, I would read as much as I could on a subject, and do a deep-dive around one particular topic. I also allow myself to touch the other mediums that are related to that subject, especially in the arts. Whether it be fine arts or visiting libraries and museums, I fully immerse myself in that topic. I think it allows one to slowly build both breadth and depth.

Toying with the idea of learning in-depth with our 6YO, we’re starting with an upcoming trip to Hawaii - geography, language, culture, food, etc. It’s been fun to think about structuring research (library visits, talking to people) and maybe even making a short presentation at the end.

Mistakes

We’ve pulled out a chess set that’s been collecting dust for years and introduced our 6YO to the game. I know the basics but never played chess regularly growing up. It’s been fun for both of us to learn together. Our 6YO is extremely competitive (inherited from her mom), and even before starting our first “game”, she insisted there would be no “winning” or “losing.” We would just learn how pieces moved. That didn’t last long once she was winning.

I’ve been trying to talk a lot about the value of “mistakes”, “failures”, and “losing” as opportunities to learn - even going so far as to celebrate mistakes. Recently, our 6YO participated in a math class, and it was fascinating to see the confidence she had in answering, even when wrong. The teacher was excellent in helping the kids eventually find the right answer, and I hope realizing it’s ok to be wrong and valuing learning from mistakes will last as long as possible, accelerating her learning curve.

Deden

I have a handful of articles/interviews/videos that seem to only get better after revisiting. This Grant Williams interview with Tony Deden is one of them. It’s primarily investing-focused (some good notes here), but one of my favorite quotes is:

The best thing you can pass onto your children is not money, it’s the way of doing things.

It’s easy to think of all the things we want our kids to know or do, but the best way to teach them is by leading by example. Another friend shared how difficult bedtime routines were and just getting his three kids to brush their teeth. After screaming almost every night, he thought of just brushing his own teeth with his kids. Game changer.