Lessons for life: your mind

Lesson Purpose: To demonstrate that the human mind is a special gift; but it must be developed to be successful in life.

The lesson

“Never trust your brain. It is two-faced and self-programmed:

Taylor Jones (Yes, it’s me).

“What is mind? It doesn’t matter. What is matter? It doesn’t matter.” TH key

“The firefly is bright, but has no mind; it stumbles through existence with its head light burning behind it.”

EF Ware, The Lightning Insect

“If you had another brain, it would be lonely.” common saying

our wonderful mind

The human mind controls the actions of the body and interprets the impulses of the cells that transmit sound, optical, chemical and other types of messages.

You can be right-brained or left-brained. One sixth of all people are left-handed and routine functions are monitored by the right half of the brain. The left half of his brain.

handles the complex interpretations necessary for many brain functions.

Most other people are right handed and routines are handled by the left side of the brain. For them, the right half handles complex and three-dimensional performances.

Right or left, the brain is a marvel.

Many scientists see the Hand of God in the optics of the eye and the brain’s ability to interpret them. There are many brain-controlled miracles in the human anatomy.

The human brain develops slowly, it takes about sixteen years to reach its full potential. At that age, most adolescents can think like adults and should be allowed to do

decisions under the guidance of their parents. Then, when they are older and on their own, they will be able to make good decisions because of their experience.

“If I Only Had a Brain”

That’s what the blood on the scarecrow says in the “Wizard of Oz.” Ray Bolger played the part just as I remember it. During World War II, my brother saw Ray Bolger play on the San Francisco stage. He still talks about what a great performer he was. Ray Bolger died in 1987 at the age of eighty-three.

The scarecrow said it was a failure because it had no brain. Dorothy (Judy Garland) asked her what she would do with a brain if she had one. She replied that she could “spend hours consulting with the flowers and consulting with the rain.”

He said that while he was “scratching” his head, “thoughts would be hatching.” She added that she could solve puzzles that were causing others to be “in trouble and pain”.

Dorothy told her people that with “all those ideas, he’d be another Lincoln”, if only he had a brain.

Did the scarecrow ever get his brain?

No, the Wizard of Oz gave him a diploma. What did the scarecrow really need? Trust! He already had a working brain. He just didn’t have enough confidence to trust his thoughts.

You can destroy a person’s confidence by continually calling them stupid.

Never use such terms. Sometimes, even jokingly, they can hurt.

How do we educate our children?

First, we have to realize that they are intelligent human beings. Most children can speak fully coherent and grammatically correct sentences by the time they are three years old.

They have learned a foreign language!

The fact is that it is very difficult to learn a foreign language when you are over 25 years old. I have a friend who speaks French, Spanish and German to his children.

daughters. So they too can speak these languages.

He speaks French to his dog. The dog obeys him and answers him in French. Did you know that Wow! In French it is also Wow! (That’s what’s called a “weak joke! Jay Leno is a master of the “weak joke.”)

The point is that children learn different things more easily at different times in their lives. I taught my children to play chess when they were four years old. It’s just a game, right?

I taught my oldest son some simple algebra when he was four or five years old.

Another game.

Many children can learn to read at three or four years of age. Just give them a chance. One of my adopted grandsons is four years old. She has been reading for almost two years. She can read a college level text. She doesn’t understand what she reads at that level, but she can read every word. I think she is from another planet and she always knew how to read. She only had two years to hold the book.

Very young children easily learn anything that only requires memory. I used to tell my nephew when he was about three years old, “Di Pithecanthropus Erectus.” I would come back.

And don’t young children learn all the names of dinosaurs very quickly?

Things that require coordination are best learned at a later age. Drawing requires hand-eye coordination. Some children have natural artistic talent and show it early. others may be

they taught to draw when they developed the required coordination.

By the way, it is best not to teach young children contact sports until their bones and joints have developed adequately to withstand jolts and blows.

The thing is, children need to interact with many topics while they are young. You can be the example. If you write a poem, your child will want to write a poem. If you draw a picture, your child will want to draw one too. If you write a story, your child will want to write a story. If you study birds, your child will want to study birds.

Do lots of different things with your children to help them find their interest early.

I went back to graduate school when my children were young.

They thought spending life in college was normal. My oldest son spent eight years in residency after medical school to become a neurosurgeon. The sons of number two did their residency in pediatric anesthesiology. Son number three went to veterinary school at Purdue University. Son number four went to law school. My daughter’s education was interrupted because her husband went off to medical school and then did his residency in anesthesiology. She works with a team from the heart. But she is an accomplished portrait painter because she continued her education.

All four of my sons are Eagle Scouts. They were exposed to many different areas through the Boy Scout Merit Badge Program. Two of my grandsons are also Eagle Scouts. So I think I’m giving good advice.

Spend time with your children. Teach them what you know. Expose them to mind-opening experiences. Zoos are good. Museums and planetariums are good. Nature is good. The library is good.

So buy a microscope and a telescope and let your kids use them.

Television is good if you are selective about what you and your children watch. But television can be inconvenient in exposing your children to educational experiences.

Let your children explore their world.

I think I said it in another lesson. When I moved to a mountain town in Arizona a few years ago, I learned that many families here stopped watching TV years ago. Some only use the television for videotape. But there are worthwhile educational programs on television. You just have to make some restrictions so that your children are not deprived of a true education that only you can give them.

Teach your children to learn to do things that are difficult to do. There is no other way to stretch the mind. There is no other way to give them a competitive advantage in their adult life.

for young children

“What are you doing, Billy?”

“Get out of my light, Sandy. I’m studying these ants.”

Sandy stepped back and said, “Don’t you have anything else to do? Study ants? Why?”

“Girls don’t understand science and stuff,” Billy said. “I’m going to be a scientist.”

Sandy lifted her chin. “I’m going to be a dancer.”

“To what?” Billy asked.

“A prima ballerina. A ballerina. That’s what I’m going to be.”

Billy laughed. “In this little town? Who would go to see you?”

“New York! Paris! Moscow! That’s where I’ll be dancing.”

“Lucky!” Billy said. “I’m going down to the Amazon River and to Africa. I’ve read that they have a lot of ants to study in those places.”

Sandy laughed and said, “I think you’ve got a lot of ants right there, Billy. They’re crawling up your leg!”

“So what?” Billy said. “Want to look at this winged one through my magnifying glass?”

“An ant with wings? Sure! Give me the glass.”

“She’s a queen,” said Billy.

“Wow! It really looks good through this magnifying glass. I’m going to look at a hundred of them.”

“Oh no!” Billy said. “I think it’s time for you to go home and tell your mother that she loves you. Give me my magnifying glass.”

Billy grabbed the magnifying glass. Sandy jumped up and ran home. Billy thought, “Now that she’s gone, I can really study these bugs.” But Sandy ran back from her house with an even bigger magnifying glass. Billy said, “Wow! Can I look through that thing?”

“Sure,” Sandy said. But you have to make me a promise.

Billy grabbed the largest magnifying glass. “What did he promise?”

“You have to take me with you to the Amazon River and Africa.”

“Sure,” said Billy, “but what about all that dancing?”

“The girls can change their minds if they want. I’m going to be an entomologist!”

Billy asked, “A what?”

“You guys are so dumb! He’s a science bug. Give me back my magnifying glass.”

They both knelt on the ground and studied the ants together.

The end

Copyright©2001-2005 by Taylor Jones, John T. Jones, Ph.D.