i n t h i s i s s u e : G R A N D PA R E N T S ’ D A Y S P H O T O S • T E DX YO U T H @ I S A S • H O L I D A Y D O N A T I N G
The Weekly
VO L U M E X V I I I , N U M B E R 10 A weekly publication of The Post Oak School
POST
N OV E M B E R 3 0 , 2 012 Available online at www.postoakschool.org
L E A R N E R S I N H E R I T T H E E A RT H by John Long, Head of School
“I
Post Oak faculty receives a lesson on the use of musical materials in the classroom.
n times of change, learners inherit the Earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.” —Eric Hoffer
LEARNERS VS KNOWERS
This comment reminds me of the distinction between a learner and a knower (those Hoffer called “the learned”). A knower KNOWS. He
feels smart. When he makes an error, or doesn’t know the answer, or loses the game, it threatens his identity. He thinks he may not be smart after all. He gets anxious, uncomfortable, even angry. To defend his identity he has several options: he can pretend that he knows; he can change the subject; he can avoid the situation altogether; he can blame someone else or some external cause. If something is hard, he may even bail out because, after all, he’s continued on page 2