You know that old Chinese Proverb…
Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.
Giving is good. Teaching is also good. But neither of those are really the best way to feed a man for a lifetime.
Think about what it means to “teach” a man to fish. If the man were taught in a traditional classroom in the Western world, what would his day look like?
For starters, he would be required to read about fishing. Lots of reading. He would review many diagrams on fishing and listen to his teacher talk about fishing. He would be put into a group to discuss fishing, and also prepare a project and deliver a presentation on fishing. He would memorize all he could possibly cram into his brain about fishing, because he would be required to pass an exam on fishing. If he got a 90% or above, the teacher would tell him, “You’re very knowledgeable in fishing! You’ll can now go feed yourself for a lifetime!”
Essentially, that’s what we’re doing to our children. We fill them up with knowledge, send them out into the world, and expect them to know what the heck they are doing. Since that is what we are used to, we often carry the same model with us throughout adulthood. But what if there were a better way to learn?
Tell me, and I will forget. Show me, and I may remember. Involve me, and I will understand. – Confucius
We go back to our soon-to-be fisherman. What if we were to actually take the man out onto a boat, give him a fishing pole, and involve him in the act of fishing? Through experiencing the process of fishing, he will learn to fish. To the credit of the ancient Chinese, I’m pretty sure this is what they meant. I’m also pretty sure this is not the way most modern schools “teach.”
Now, as all cute stories, this one is a bit overly simplistic.
In reality, books, teachers, videos, and discussions are all great tools for learning…just not by themselves. Combine that passive knowledge with active experience and you have a recipe for real learning to take place. Add some serious reflection and internalization and now you’re on the fast track to true wisdom!
Most people view experience as something we gain slowly over time, or as something that happens to us. But why wait for experience to come to us? We can create it!
By actively seeking out experiences, we can help bridge the gap between simply collecting knowledge and actually gaining wisdom.
I spend a good amount of time envisioning the future, as well as the experiences needed to get me there. There are some experiences I want to have just for the pure fun of it, but most of my experiences are centered around what matters most in my life. They are experiences that help me learn more about myself, develop my character, or improve my skills. They are experiences that allow me to connect with others on a deeper level. They are experiences that expand my views and lead me to create positive changes in the world.
But none of this can happen without being prepared.
As you may already know, there is a tremendous amount of value in writing down your goals and dreams. Writing things down can help make ideas more real and concrete. For me, I will suddenly be able to visualize myself in the midst of the experience, and I become super motivated to get make it happen! Being prepared and writing down my experiences is what motivates me, inspires me, and keeps me focused!
That’s why I’ve created an Experience List!
It’s a way for me to keep track of the experiences that have significantly impacted my life so far, what experiences I have coming up in the near future, as well as experiences I would like to have someday. It’s an awesome way to reflect on all that I’ve done and keep me focused on gaining new experiences.
Check out my newly published Experience List in the menu bar at the top of the page, or just click here.
I highly encourage you to start an experience list of your own, and do it in a way that jives with you. By that I mean it could be a simple list written down in a notebook, typed in an excel spreadsheet, or turned into an awesome “Experience Board” with notes and pictures to keep you motivated.
The whole point of the list is to inspire you towards all the incredible experiences you would like to have in order to truly experience life fully!
Fill it with fun and exciting experiences, learning experiences, as well as experiences that you think will be deeply meaningful for you. Perhaps most importantly, fill it with experiences that will encourage you to face your fears and challenge you to grow.
Share some of your previous, planned, or potential experiences in the comments! Even better, send me some pictures of you having amazing experiences, and I’ll post them on the ELF facebook page!!
Go on, get out there, and involve yourself in the act of fishing! 
Be wise. Live life!
Dearest Adrienne,
) – Whatever my little girl reads in her books…I play it out with her when she is home. I create train-sets and cut out drawings and create a whole room, full of flowers birds and animals. I take her to the zoo, the park…to catch butterflies, to talk to trees, to have conversations with the birds that have nests in my balconies…and also to have a real heart to heart with the little house lizard that visits us often. She even has a little conversations with God, whenever she gets a boo boo saying “Allah allah make my foot all better.” and literally in about 5 seconds she is up and running saying Allah made my foot better..lets play! 
You know what you have stated here about the education system is what I fear the most for my little girl. I want her to learn, but to also learn with experience. In experiencing we learn hands on….and all our faculties are at play. Its an enriching feeling…and one that stays with you forever.
I personally, especially for my little one(mostly for the kid in me
All in all…From my end I’m not leaving any stone unturned to truly make my little one(and me) experience life and all its glory.
I will definitely try out the experience list. Sounds fun!
Thank you fro this insightful post!
So Much Love,
Z~
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Dear Zeenat,
I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed reading your comment! Your little girl is so lucky to have such a wonderful mom! I know because my mom was very much like you in that she always had me actively involved in playing and learning. I was so touched by what you wrote that I even called my mom to tell her she had to read your comment!
Your stories about playing and visiting the zoo brought back so many wonderful memories!! Like how my mom and I used to dress in our matching Batman pajamas and run around the house singing the Batman theme song…how we used to go into her work at night and secretly decorate the whole office for every holiday…how the two of us would travel all over the place when we were living in Germany…taking long Sunday walks down by the river or up the nearby castle.
What you are doing for your little girl, and for yourself, is incredibly special, and as you said, is something that will stay with you forever. That is what is so amazing about creating experiences. They bring us to life, shape us, and stay with us in a way that “traditional teaching” really can’t do!
Thank you so much for sharing! Much love, Adrienne
p.s. I forgot to mention my little girl is only 4 years old and me well…I think I’m 4 too
Hugs~
Hi Adrienne,
Learning is very important for our growth as humans. The key is to learn and apply it to our lives. Many people just read without applying what they learn to their life. If we want to really grow and improve our lives, then we have got to apply what we learn. I like your experience list by the way
Thanks for sharing Adrienne 
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Hi Dia,
Yes, I completely agree! Applying what we learn is definitely the most difficult part of the learning process, but I believe it’s what separates the “smart” from the truly wise. Thank YOU for sharing!
~Adrienne
Adrienne,
This touches on such an important shortcoming of our educational system. It would be wonderful to make learning hands-on. I find working with a mentor is just so different than simply inhaling information through books or blogs.
That’s a terrific experience list. Good luck with accomplish your vision. I’m at a stage in my life now where I’m less interested in outer experiences and more interested in the inner work of stabilizing my mind. That’s what’s great about life – it’s always changing!
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Hi Sandra,
As I said on Twitter, your comment has definitely had me thinking! I think the majority of my experiences have been outward focused. The Kripalu retreat I went on was definitely more inward focused, as there was a lot of time for meditation and we were in social silence for the majority of the time. However, I wouldn’t actually need to GO anywhere for that type of experience. There more I’ve thought about this, the more I have realized that external experiences are actually much easier than internal ones. I think I would have an easier time climbing Mt Everest than I would sitting alone in silence for a day.
Perhaps you are right about life stages. Or maybe I just need to face some of my own fears and settle in with some focus and discipline. I think there is probably as much to be learned from exploring our own minds as there is to be explored out in the rest of the world.
Thanks for your insights, Sandra, and for always keeping me on my toes!
Hi Adrienne.
Thanks for sharing this article. You are absolutely right. Learning is not something we do just by reading a book or studying a text. We definitely need to experience it to truly learn it.
I like your words: “By actively seeking out experiences, we can help bridge the gap between simply collecting knowledge and actually gaining wisdom.”
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Always happy to see you here, David! I’m glad you enjoyed the article. I look forward to checking out your new e-book!
Hi Adrienne!
How we wish we got that kind of education when we were younger! Where we were from, it’s very exam oriented. It’s more of cramming and practising answering questions rather than living out what’s been taught. Even in grade school kids are meant to sit for exams every few months and if they don’t do well, remedial classes are given. Sad isn’t it? They hardly have time to enjoy life and experience what they’ve learnt.
We hope that one day the education system would be more like how you described it. I did try creative ways of teaching kids but the parents still demanded fast results. They forgot that it takes more than just two hours once or twice a week to improve a kid’s understanding of a foreign language. Nevertheless, the kids still had fun while learning in those two hours. That’s what’s important.
Thanks for sharing this! We especially loved Zeenat’s comment. So cool to have a mom like that! My mom used to play restaurant with me and we’d make menus together. She’d be the cook and waitress and I’d sit as the patron. That was fun!
Shaheera
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Hi Shaheera,
Thanks so much for sharing your experience! Where did you grow up? Sadly, the U.S. is becoming very exam oriented as well. I keep hearing complaints from friends that are teachers that everything they are teaching is geared towards getting students to do well on exams. It seems that the school ranking and funding is based on the exam results. Lousy system as far as I’m concerned (although I admit I don’t have all of the facts and details behind their reasoning).
I really hope the school system can change as well, but even if it doesn’t, at least there are things we can do outside of school to encourage children to learn through experiencing, reflecting, and internalizing. And like both you and Zeenat, I completely agree that learning and experiencing can and should be fun!!
Luckily, there are many models for education that involve “make & do” (this was title my favorite of 12 hardcover Childcraft texts in my wee days). This “constructivist” approach is easy to integrate in literature and media courses; it’s more difficult when schools are like boarding-houses. I will quit my profession if behavioral control is the best we can do.
And wisdom, wow. There are models for this as well (IB provides “service learning). But ultimately, your right; aside from “modeling integrity” there an authoritycan do to inspire wisdom. It is something existential; your experience list provides this.
At our core, we need to discover the world for ourselves–teachers, prophets, priests, scribes–all these folks are guides that take us into the deep and hallowed places of wisdom. The kind of stuff that textbooks will never inspire.
Good one!
M
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Mark,
Awesome to see you here and continuing this discussion! In fact, I was just chatting about this topic with my Bernardo (YourGreatLifeTV) and his wife, Gaby. We were discussing modern public schools and the typical education system, and they mentioned that they have their son in a private school that is very focused on experiential learning. I guess this type of school is beginning to crop up all over the country — which is very exciting! Hopefully by the time I have kids and they are ready for school, there will be a better “education system” in place.
Thanks for sharing!