Realization About What You Don’t Know
Sometimes a swift kick in the mental backside is a good thing.
Over the last couple months, our 4th grade son has been asked to take some competitive tests. What's more publicly known in non-athletic competitions would be the Scripts Spelling Bee, a national competition for kids in grade school and into early middle school to compete in an ESPN televised competition. But there are others. There is a science bee. There is a geography bee. There is a history bee. And our son, who is incredibly young for this competitive level, has been asked to compete in all of them. We're incredibly proud and just hope he has fun.
In the preparation, I was able to figure out that there are some guides as to the material that might be asked. I've sat down with my son to just watch him, on his iPad, work through some of the different subjects. And boy do I feel stupid. I'm an overly educated person. I read somewhere between 8 and 11 newspapers every day. I try to stay up on the latest news (distantly). But when we review the material, I am amazed that kids would know any of these things.
One of the subjects recommended in review for the geography bee was on Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast). I certainly know where it is on a map. And then I watched my son go through information about the capital, the largest city, rivers running through it, and other things I had never thought about. And he knew many of them. And then there are subjects on Indonesia, the Alps in Europe, rivers in South America, and much more. He knew much more than I ever knew existed. And I don't anticipate he'll be the best one in this particular competition. And then there is the science and history bees (and all of that material)
On top of that, he's learning chess. I used to be able to beat him fairly easily. It's not as easy anymore. And at night, we'll watch old Nebraska football games (when we actually won a few) and he can remember plays, numbers of players, and overall games to which not only was he not born, I wasn't even dating his mother yet. Some 25 plus years ago.
When you think you've gotten somewhere in life (an author of a book, an owner of my own company, decades of education), you're reminded that there are people out there that are much smarter. Much deeper thinkers. Much better at retaining information. And in comparison to me, that number is quite large. In the end, it may turn out that my 10-year-old is amongst that group.
Dad always told me that if you wanted to get ahead in life you should find the smartest people in a room and hang out with them. Listen to what they say. Learn from them. It turns out that I'm doing that nightly when I put my kid to bed.
No pressure from his parents for the competition. Just have fun. But it is a joy to watch.
