End-of-the-semester thoughts: What have you learned from your life?

        We were going to talk about "Learning and Conditioning" in my General Psych class. As an introduction to the topic, I asked them to enumerate the things they have learned since childhood. As expected, they came up with answers like "reading, riding a bike, singing, cooking, writing a good paper, doing math, etc.".

        I told them, "Good! But is that all? Are you sure you are not forgetting anything else?" I was hoping to get more answers that wouldn't fit into categories like abilities and skills and facts that they have learned from their more than ten years sitting inside a classroom. Silence.

        And so I asked them, "Have you not learned other things from outside the classroom?" More Silence.  I proceeded to throw them a barrage of questions. How about the lessons you learned from your family - like loving and caring for others? From your mistakes, have you learned to rise above them so you don't do them again? What have you learned from your successes and disappointments? Don't you keep them in your mind and heart so that they shape your foray into the future? When you see a beautiful sunset and taste a new dish that's utterly delicious, what happens to those experiences? Do you seek them again and hope to share them with others. What precious gems can you get from your lifelong friendships or what have your friends who can no longer be in your life imprinted in your hearts? What has life taught you so far?

     Tough questions, maybe. But this is my fervent hope as a teacher - that when students leave my classroom, they would have learned not only facts and skills but also realize the value of reflecting on their lives and being grateful for all that they have learned so far.