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is just around the corner , bringing months of bitter cold and snow and ice , and changing clocks to standard time . We tend to forget winter also brings ice fishing , some hunting seasons continue into the next year , and people will ski on snow rather than water .
But winter isn ’ t here yet , and there ’ s a reason we live on this godforsaken parcel of land . September reminds us why we ’ ll be positively giddy in October , and November is often a delightful mix of autumn and winter , with the best of both . Just remember Mother Nature is behind the wheel , and she forgets year-to-year ( and season-to-season ) how to shift a manual transmission .
My youngest grandson , Gaël , finally got to visit my cabin and land at 3 1 / 2 years of age last July . As I get older , I ’ m driven by a philosophical need , if not a burning desire , to teach my children , grandchildren , and
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now one great-grandchild what I ’ ve learned over the years . While the drive gets stronger , time is growing shorter . To really learn the land and its inhabitants , one must move cautiously and think about each sight , every sound , and all the colors , scents , and tastes that inundate our senses . We must learn what others have learned , lest the knowledge be forgotten , assuming it was ever learned at all . Yet , it ’ s hard enough to keep a child ’ s attention for more than a moment or two , and I can no longer keep up with the little buzz-saws as they blaze new trails at lightning speed , paying no heed to the wonders they pass .
We ’ re all sometimes blinded , forgetting what we ourselves once learned . The average person has 86 billion neurons , or brain cells . I might have more or less , as I have never counted them . However , they have definitely
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gotten lazy as I age , and don ’ t all function at once . Sometimes I think my brain cells even argue amongst themselves over which neuron ' s turn it is to spew out information , and I stand there slackjawed until they decide . I still have enough functioning brain cells to know if I never learned something to begin with , and whatever that something is won ’ t be something I will remember . This is why we must |
educate our children as much as we can -- not brainwash them with conspiracy theories and rubbish from the internet that spreads hate and prejudice -- but teach them facts , ethics , and critical thinking skills so they can be better than us . Lord knows we need more people who solve problems and fewer who start them .
How does one teach a child who really doesn ’ t want to learn
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