FOUR THOUSAND DAYS OF LEARNING

I often fall into the snare of seeing myself as the “starter” of all learning in my classes – the person who permits learning to take place by setting it in motion at the outset – but the truth is that learning needs no start because it has never stopped. From the first moment of conscious awareness, my students have been learning at lightning speeds. All glimpses, all passing sounds and sights, all words seen or heard even with just the swiftness of a short-lived thought – all are teachers of a high order. My students have, for something like four thousand days, been doing a serious kind of studying and learning, just by living their irreplaceable lives. In my classroom, they will continue this constant and mysterious process, whether addressing themselves to my lessons or soaring out the windows on the wings of daydreams.