twenty-Six
Twenty Six…
i like to play with numbers. i’m no mathematician and i’m not that great with numbers but i love the combinations they sometimes make. i once had a telephone number 5+1=6, 4+3=7, 5x9=45. And i loved to show people how easy it was to remember my number although i never much liked talking on the phone.
Well regardless of the combinations i have derived over the years, the number 26 recently popped into my head. i have been 26 for almost a year now (quickly pushing 27) but it wasn’t my age that got me thinking. In fact when people ask my age, i sometimes forget. it’s just not something i seem to remember. my recent fixation on the number 26 started when i looked at what date i would eventually complete my doctorate. The year, i can only hope, will be 2010. 2010 is an amazing number in its own right, but i am focused solely on the number 26. In 2010, i will have spent 26 years in education, not as an educator, but as a student.
26 years is a long time to invest on education. And now that i look back, i am convinced that it is impossible to spend too much time in the classroom. i make no assertion that knowledge is confined to the classroom, but it is the discipline the classroom setting demands that i value most. With every teacher there are different standards to meet in addition to a new learning curve. The classroom forces the individual to adapt to these challenges. Some students are naturally gifted and perform well in the classroom regardless of the subject and regardless of the instructor. i am one who is often challenged by both the instructor and the subject. Sometimes i find learning to be difficult and i find myself having to quickly adapt in the short timeframe. In the end, whether i was successful in achieving my own goals or missed my mark, i feel the experience enough is victory and this reward far outweighs the stress.
And this is the primary reason i do not regret what will be 26 years of education come 2010.
In fact, to repay my gratitude, i hope to spend the next 26 years (maybe x 2) giving back to the academic community through teaching, research and service in the field of information/computer science and the many disciplines it traverses. i hope to use the classroom setting to challenge a new generation of knowledge seekers, even those who do not realize that 26 years may be in their future.
a blog entry by Brian Thoms
i like to play with numbers. i’m no mathematician and i’m not that great with numbers but i love the combinations they sometimes make. i once had a telephone number 5+1=6, 4+3=7, 5x9=45. And i loved to show people how easy it was to remember my number although i never much liked talking on the phone.
Well regardless of the combinations i have derived over the years, the number 26 recently popped into my head. i have been 26 for almost a year now (quickly pushing 27) but it wasn’t my age that got me thinking. In fact when people ask my age, i sometimes forget. it’s just not something i seem to remember. my recent fixation on the number 26 started when i looked at what date i would eventually complete my doctorate. The year, i can only hope, will be 2010. 2010 is an amazing number in its own right, but i am focused solely on the number 26. In 2010, i will have spent 26 years in education, not as an educator, but as a student.
26 years is a long time to invest on education. And now that i look back, i am convinced that it is impossible to spend too much time in the classroom. i make no assertion that knowledge is confined to the classroom, but it is the discipline the classroom setting demands that i value most. With every teacher there are different standards to meet in addition to a new learning curve. The classroom forces the individual to adapt to these challenges. Some students are naturally gifted and perform well in the classroom regardless of the subject and regardless of the instructor. i am one who is often challenged by both the instructor and the subject. Sometimes i find learning to be difficult and i find myself having to quickly adapt in the short timeframe. In the end, whether i was successful in achieving my own goals or missed my mark, i feel the experience enough is victory and this reward far outweighs the stress.
And this is the primary reason i do not regret what will be 26 years of education come 2010.
In fact, to repay my gratitude, i hope to spend the next 26 years (maybe x 2) giving back to the academic community through teaching, research and service in the field of information/computer science and the many disciplines it traverses. i hope to use the classroom setting to challenge a new generation of knowledge seekers, even those who do not realize that 26 years may be in their future.
a blog entry by Brian Thoms
posted by Brain at 8:36 PM
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