Most of you know that I have started a new adventure- college! I figured that it was time to finish up something that I have always wanted to accomplish. I am taking Social Work, it was that or Psychology that really interested me, and I am enjoying the part-time course load. Three classes seems like a lot for part-time; I couldn't imagine what full-time would feel like with everything else that I need to do.
I like my professors and find a common thread in the English, Psychology and Sociology classes. They seem to be tailor made for me in helping me to think in a deeper way than I have been used to. Critical thinking was what my first essay was on. Critical thinking was certainly a part of my life before college, you know, "Oh no, it is five o'clock, I haven't started supper and the kids have to be at activities in 30 minutes!" That's critical! or "Someone just hit their head, punched their sibling, threw up on the carpet, broke an important piece of furniture, etc. etc" There was lots of that kind of critical thinking.
Now it is a new phase: how does culture affect what we do, how does the neurotransmitters firing in our brain affect mood, how can we formulate our opinions as we summarize someone else's work while still maintaining integrity in presenting their opinion. Are these better thoughts, more important, more capable of making changes in our lives and the lives of those around us?
I don't believe so. The little things we do every day as a mother are the building blocks of creating a safe, loving, caring environment for our children to grow up in. We have much more influence in their lives through our daily acts than any other influence we will ever have anywhere else in our lives. That being said, it is still important to learn about everything here on earth, and in the process help our brains to function even better as we age instead of degenerating.
And as for helping us increase that brain capacity, I have a little story. I was asking for some help with working out the correlation coefficient for a psych assignment. "Where exactly did you get lost?" was the question, assuming that it was the z score formulation, or perhaps the standard deviation formula.
"No," I replied, "She lost me when she said, pull out your calculator!"
I like my professors and find a common thread in the English, Psychology and Sociology classes. They seem to be tailor made for me in helping me to think in a deeper way than I have been used to. Critical thinking was what my first essay was on. Critical thinking was certainly a part of my life before college, you know, "Oh no, it is five o'clock, I haven't started supper and the kids have to be at activities in 30 minutes!" That's critical! or "Someone just hit their head, punched their sibling, threw up on the carpet, broke an important piece of furniture, etc. etc" There was lots of that kind of critical thinking.
Now it is a new phase: how does culture affect what we do, how does the neurotransmitters firing in our brain affect mood, how can we formulate our opinions as we summarize someone else's work while still maintaining integrity in presenting their opinion. Are these better thoughts, more important, more capable of making changes in our lives and the lives of those around us?
I don't believe so. The little things we do every day as a mother are the building blocks of creating a safe, loving, caring environment for our children to grow up in. We have much more influence in their lives through our daily acts than any other influence we will ever have anywhere else in our lives. That being said, it is still important to learn about everything here on earth, and in the process help our brains to function even better as we age instead of degenerating.
And as for helping us increase that brain capacity, I have a little story. I was asking for some help with working out the correlation coefficient for a psych assignment. "Where exactly did you get lost?" was the question, assuming that it was the z score formulation, or perhaps the standard deviation formula.
"No," I replied, "She lost me when she said, pull out your calculator!"
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