They don't teach you this in school

As I am riding the train to school this morning, I'm reminded of something that happened to me last last week.  I have some new neighbors in the white house next to mine (the house that used to be occupied with the people with the horribly annoying dog).  I have a feeling these new neighbors are going to be great...the sign of this is that I did not know they were there for the first few days (ie...they are quiet).  The family who lives there either has several boys of about junior high age or their house has quickly became the hang out spot for their friends.  I was getting ready to go for a run when I noticed these boys were, well, doing what boys do and having a spitting contest.  Watching them spit, I realized they probably didn't have the advantages I had of older spit role models as no one had instructed them in the proper technique in terms of distance and arc.  I took it upon myself to have a teaching opportunity for these boys.  I went over to the boys and asked them if they wanted to see something really cool.  I then proceeded to send a spit at least 30 ft, partially landing in the yard across the street from where we were standing.  These boys thought this was the coolest thing they had seen, and immediately wanted to be instructed in my spit technique.  By the time I left, they were trying to get the technique down, even going so far as putting their entire body into it.

A lot of learning takes place in life, and its my guess the vast majority of what we use is learned outside of school.  Any knowledge we can impart provides us with a teaching opportunity that can enrich the lives of others.