A Boy, A Book, and A Lesson …

“Any man who reads too much and uses his own brain too little falls into lazy habits of thinking”

Albert Einstein in A Close Look at the World’s Greatest Thinker, American Magazine, (June 1930)

Well, this made me pay attention …

As a life-long lover of books and reading, I first took great exception to this statement. How dare anyone, even Einstein, assail the fine practice of reading great works of literature, gripping modern writing, or the occasional silly story?

Why, I know many fine people who read voluminously. They are always reading, might be the original inspiration for the saying “Got their nose stuck in a book“, and know lots of things … that they read in a book. So what if they seem sometimes unable to deal with everyday life?

Mrs. Bradley, my fifth grade teacher, gave me a gift …

Actually she gave me a science textbook. Not the one that we used in class, but an advanced volume with New Stuff on every page. Apparently, she saw something in my self-conscious, needy, gawky, and rather unlikable 10-year old self. I devoured that book, took it everywhere, reading it whenever I had free time … even at recess.

I remember one time walking along the far wall of the playground, far from my classmates who were noisily wasting their time playing with each other, whooping it up, having fun, building strong bodies, and learning communication and collaboration techniques.

Never mind that … I was learning about the Sun, reading a passage and then glancing up to observe the actual topic of discussion. My mind was on fire with scientific thoughts. Great stuff …

Except that was the day Mrs. Bradley took me aside and, in an extremely gentle way, told me to stop reading and start playing. I do not remember her exact words, but the message has stayed with me to this day:

A time for everything and everything in its time. Sometimes you read, sometimes you play, and knowing when to do each is important.

Reading is valuable, but not exclusive. When we isolate ourselves or surround ourselves with books, we miss much of the rest of life.

Learning is not a solitary pursuit, but a shared activity. Sharing knowledge, encouraging others to share, and learning together is more fun.

What a sneaky woman … not only does she give me a different gift than the one I thought I was getting, she also made a very strong case for the value of learning in groups … right into that fifth-grade classroom which I had been known to disrupt from time to time.

… and you probably thought I was going to share some lofty thoughts about creating powerful statements based on what I had read.

Sorry, today’s lofty thoughts are about the power of teaching. Reading is just one of the tools.