“Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.”
John Dewey
The measure of any civilization is how they transfer knowledge from generation to generation. A culture that grants exclusive knowledge rights to their chosen elite will never experience long term well-being or sustainability. Education breathes life into a society that believes everyone should be endowed with the gift of learning.
I want to live where I can breathe the air of life-long learning. What better place than within our blogger community?
Lady Budd 
So true. Out walking this evening I was thinking about how we transfer knowledge. I was thinking how I am always excited by how much I learn from my elders. My 93 year old aunt shows me new knitting ideas every time I visit her. It would take the rest of my life to learn all that she knows on the subject. Yet too often when talking about our elders we speak of supporting and assisting them, as if they are the lesser for being older. I think we should consider ourselves their apprentices, always. We have so much to learn from them, even ,or perhaps more so, when illness and dementia come in to play. As an afterthought, it is exciting to learn from the younger generation and one’s peer group too. It’s all wonderfully EXCITING.
LikeLike
That is the best explanation of generational knowledge transfer that I have ever heard. When I read: “Consider ourselves their apprentices”, I felt goosebumps. Most of fear growing older simply because we don’t want to be a “burden on society.” This thought has become embedded in our cultural DNA so that is seems, in many cases, to become a self-fulfilling prophecy We can choose a different path. My grandmother tried to teach me how to tat when I was a teenager. I never learned but I loved to watch her fingers move quickly and efficiently. She taught me the lesson of patience – the memory still lingers and has the power to re-energize my spirits. Thank you so much for stopping by – your comments and wisdom are much appreciated! I agree – it is all wonderfully EXCITING!!
LikeLike