Day 354.76 as Student

I am always the student.

Always, no matter what, where or when.

Furthermore, there is an art to being a good student. We have trod this terrain time and time again. Dave Matthews might call it 'treading trodden trails.'  It is glaringly obvious what is coming next, is it not?  It is also unbelievably hard to master.

The art of paying attention. My high school baseball coach suggested to me as a sophomore that I could be an A student if I paid as much attention to history, Spanish and mechanical drawing as I did to hitting behind the runner, turning deuces and reciting the infield fly rule. At the time it was my deep understanding that none of those scholastic traits were necessary for the professional ball player.

I guess you know the result of that error in judgement.

All my buddies went on to successful and lucrative careers, one even went to the Hall of Fame. I went to work.

Today, some forty-five years later, I can not only see my failure, but practice every day to ensure it won't be repeated. At lest in the areas where I have some control.

Could it really be as easy as simply paying attention? I can hear the debate, 'no, there is more,' and there is, because paying attention is half the battle, the other being to act upon the information that your attention has gleaned.

So I practice being a good student. Both parts.

We used to say that the goal of the student is to become the teacher. Maybe the best teachers were once the best students. I continue to feel that the greater good calls for teachers creating more teachers.

With the best of them always the student.

Off to class then.