When I was a small child, I struggled immensely with my ability to read. I was born with a lazy eye and astigmatism, which meant that for the first four years of my life, I wandered around half-blind. When I finally got glasses, it felt like a whole new world opened up to me. However, while I could now see clearly, I was developmentally behind my peers in many ways, including reading.
Continue reading A Journey to Reading
I was talking to my brother Wes while waiting for my daughter Jessie and my wife Cassie to land at the airport. They were returning from visiting family in Texas. I asked Wes how his life path might have been different if he had not decided to go to the high school where our dad taught.
For years, my dad was a math teacher at East High School in Salt Lake City, Utah. A few of my siblings struggled at the high school near our home. My parents asked if they wanted a fresh start at a different high school, and they eagerly agreed.
Continue reading Looking Back
There is comfort in being certain. Certainty gives us solid ground. It tells us where we stand, what we believe, and how we understand the world. But certainty can also become a quiet stopping place. Once we are convinced that we already know the answer, we often stop asking the questions that might teach us something new.
Curiosity works differently. Curiosity doesn’t require us to abandon what we believe. It simply leaves the door open. It allows us to say, “This is what I believe today, but what else might I learn?” That small question can change the way we see people, ideas, and even ourselves.
Continue reading Certainty and Curiosity
