As many of you know, I do substitute teaching. I have to admit that I get a tad frustrated by kids who don’t want to learn. The first grade teachers tried to address this by showing the movie, On the Way to School, which is about four students trying to get to school for the opportunity to learn. While the movie was interesting at times to these squirrely students, I’m not sure the message got through.

But are the kids to blame? I know far too many adults who won’t even question a post on social media, much less delve into a subject they are curious about. There are opportunities all around us to indulge in lifelong learning of new subjects or new aspects of old ones.Books can provide a great wealth of knowledge, not only non-fiction books, but fiction written by people who delve deeply into research or are subject matter experts.

When I write, I endeavor to double check my assumptions about places and facts. I am blessed also by beta readers and a fine editor who feel free to question what I write. For example, I originally based church scenes in Finding Home from my liturgical church experience, although I called it a community church. My editor told me my descriptions were dead wrong, and a fellow teacher gave me the insight I needed to describe it (hopefully) correctly.

In addition to writing and substituting, I also help other authors self-publish their books through my company Concierge Self-Publishing. I learn so very much from my very diverse authors. For example, right now I’m working on a book of poetry by a man recently released from incarceration, a historical fiction romance set in Moorish Spain, and a timely memoir from a forest service fire ranger.

Lifelong learning is all around us. All we have to do is observe and do a little research. Learning can be fun. Let’s show our kids how.