Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Being Naive...

Always remain open to experiment, always be ready to walk a path you have never walked before. Who knows? Even if it proves useless, it will be an experience. - Osho

I have always tried to live my life like this. I once had a drawing teacher in college who said to me, "If I could teach you one thing, it would be to take every chance to try new things as they come up..." I took these words to heart and a few days later I signed myself up to study abroad in Kenya for half of a year. It was a life-changing and often difficult experience when I was there, but I never regretted it.

As for today, I took 19 teenagers to the MIA for a field trip. I spent at least 20 hours to prepare for it and had all of the students caravan over. I decided trust them in this museum (that is filled to the rim with priceless art) and gave them questions to answer, and artwork to find throughout. I told them to meet me down in the coffee shop at 11:30 sharp.

Every single group did the work and were able to meet me on time. Little did they know that this trust was my own experiment. A test to see if teenagers could step-up and follow through even though I've been "burned" before. I'm not sure how I am still so naive after teaching for so many years.

na·ive - according to Webster...

[nah-eev]
adjective
1.
having or showing unaffected simplicity of nature or absence of artificiality; unsophisticated; ingenuous.
2.
having or showing a lack of experience, judgment, or information; credulous: She's so naive she believes everything she reads.