Lesson One: Everyday Experiences

Lesson One.Everyday Experiences

1. Everyday I walk my dog. He wears a harness during walks, with a long leash. We can walk on mowed trails in the field beside the house. As we walk, Char sticks his nose in every mole hole he finds. Sometimes, he smells rabbits or deer, where they have crossed the trail. The length of the leash gives him the ability to stay out in front of me 6 to 10 feet. He travels back and forth across the ground at a run. He runs while I walk. The doggy boy covers 2 or 3 times more distance than I do.

2. One day many years ago, someone offered to help me build jumps for my horses. The dimension of the jump to be built was suppose to be 2 feet wide by 2 feet high. The actual jump, after it was built, was 4 feet high and 4 feet wide. The size was a serious mistake. All jumps are the same 10 feet in length. A horse jumps the wide part. To clear this fence, a horse and rider would have to jump 7 feet wide and 5 to 6 feet high. That is a high fence for a horse and rider to clear. We dismantled it so none of the students would be tempted.

3. I attended college between 1999 and 2005. The first semester I attended a class that was intended to orient freshman students to things they might experience within classes, during their college years. I was 55 years old. The other members of the class were 18 and 19.

The professor numbered us and split us into teams. He gave assignments to each group. The teams examined the assignments and planned how to complete them. We worked on skits to give to the class audience. It turned out to be an especially fun class and many of them referred to me as mom before we were finished. Older people should join the classes of younger students on a regular basis. It is crossing generational learning.