Frustration. It seems to follow perplexity, which is what I began today’s lecture with. Long before Dr. Hatch got to the point of metacognitive thinking I was pondering how today’s lecture applies to me. I have pondered the reflection of my mind farther back than I can remember. It probably began near the same time that I developed a passion for learning. This love fueled me through my short, but whole, lifetime of home schooling. Falling on this background, each point covered by Dr. Hatch felt as familiar and comfortable as sunlight; the perplexity was from the question of why it needed to be said, and the frustration was that somehow there are people who fail to embrace the joy of learning.
The perplexity didn’t have to sink far into my mind to find frustrating answers. I remember the contrast of a mission companion who, in response to my love of learning, stated that learning was “not one of his favorite things.” It was a difficult companionship. I don’t know what he was like at the end of his mission but I hope that the opportunity to teach the gospel helped him to feel the excitement of learning. This is the connection Dr. Hatch pointed out between learning and teaching: “I get to choose what I want to learn this semester and that is what I teach.” Almost he persuades me to be a teacher.
Last night the bus seat beside me was taken by a student from my Honors Civ class. We talked about class and I learned that the discussion of classic literature, art, and ancient gods was lost on him. He explained that he was an engineering major who had spent his school years avoiding poetry, literature, art – in short, anything resembling a Humanity. It was to my dismay that he spoke of his total lack of interest in the very things I was raised feasting upon. As an engineer he must see the beauty of mathematics, science, and physics. How could he have no interest in the more intimate products of the cultures that authored our science?
Teachers must share with God the frustration of wanting to teach those who don’t want to learn. Maybe this is why those who are determined to draw nearer to God will never, as Brigham Young pointed out, cease to learn. As we cannot be saved in ignorance, we cannot desire to know God without desiring to know everything that tells of Him.