Thirst For Knowledge

The desire of knowledge, like the thirst of riches, increases ever with the acquisition of it. -Laurence Sterne, novelist and clergyman (1713-1768)

This is what we want to instill in our Esperanza scholars--a thirst for knowledge. This is what will turn them into lifelong learners. All it takes is one book that catches a child's interest to get him hooked on reading. It only takes one topic to pique a child's interest to cause her to want to continue learning about that topic that leads to wanting to learn about other topics. Therefore, we need to continually expose our Esperanza scholars to all kinds of books and all kinds of learning experiences. We can only do this if we are continually reading and learning ourselves.

Is It Essential?

Yesterday morning I watched a BYU Devotional speech by Dr. Larry Howell. He spoke of a time he had meticulously planned for a trip to London only to find when he was ready to leave that his passport had expired. All of his planning went right down the drain because he had missed taking care of this essential item. He went on to explain how important it is not to neglect those things that are essential. Because it was a devotional speech he was obviously talking about things related to our spirituality, but the principle applies to all areas of our lives. It definitely applies as we plan for Esperanza.

I recently read a book by Michael Schmoker called Focus: Elevating the Essentials to Radically Improve Student Learning. It made me realize that rather than being all over the place trying to implement each new education fad our Esperanza scholars would be better served if we concentrated on what is essential for them to be successful.

This point was brought home to me again as I have been reading a book by Anne T. Henderson called Beyond the Bake Sale: The Essential Guide to Family-School Partnerships. There is a section in the book that talks about the need to focus parent activities on student learning rather than just have an activity for the sake of having an activity.

Talking about what is essential reminded me of a quote in the book The Little Prince: "It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye." As we sort out what it essential for our Esperanza scholars it is critical that we use our heart as well as our mind.