An Invitation to the Club

We're in this together. You and I. We're members of this club- all of us. This club influences our thinking and gets us interested in various activities. This is a club with clout-and we have a lifetime membership. Now, if I ask you where you do your learning you will probably answer “in school”, right? But there is more to learning than what goes on inside the classroom-much more. Just think about it. (The club loves it when you think!) Think of the one ability you have that means more to you than all the others combined......It's you ability to talk, to communicate. And you learned how to do this without ever stepping a foot in school. The opportunities you have for this type of learning are endless. You can learn from family members, friends and neighbors; join community groups or volunteer your services to good causes. You can visit museums, attend concerts, meet new people and enjoy the outdoors. You can read magazines on every subject imaginable, write your own books, produce your own movies, and who knows what else. All of this is just waiting for you.

So this is our club- Club Ed. Learning is what it is all about. This is a club that makes no demands on its members. It's up to you to make its business your business. How? Just take advantage of the many learning opportunities available to you, both inside and outside school.
Why? Because you owe it to yourself. Tuning in to learning helps you understand yourself and your place in the world. It makes you more confident, more curious, and more excited about life. And believe me, learning makes you a far more interesting person to be around. And, you owe it to the rest of us, those of us who have been in this club for some time now. You are our future. You are someone we'll turn to in the year 2020. You will be one of our teachers, our problem solvers, our global citizens. And we're counting on you.

How can you start? Start by using that ability you value so much. Communication.

Someone once said that writing is too much fun to be left to “writers”. And that is true, especially if you write for yourself, free from the pressure of grades and expectations. Start out with personal writing, a journal, your blog or this school blog. Ask questions and answer them, dream, laugh and remember, express honest feelings, lose track of time and have fun. Do it when you're happy, sad, have a free moment, or are under a lot of stress. Communicate. Let loose that imagination, those words you have inside you, and let the words take you where they want to go. Remember, you owe this to yourself. And take a minute to reflect on this wise Chinese proverb:

“I hear and I forget;
I see and I remember;
I write and I understand.”
-Chinese proverb