I once met a thinker—Professor Aha McPhear,
Who said, “Facts in a book may go in one ear.
But unless they go Boom! in the mind somewhere,
They’ll float like a feather and vanish in thin air.
“A teacher may teach till his chalk turns to dust.
He may lecture and point and insist that we must.
But if minds never wiggle or wonder or churn,
Nothing has happened, and no one will learn.
“In learning,” Aha said, with a tap on his head,
“Thoughts march where they have never tread.
They rattle your notions and rearrange your view,
Until what you’re thinking is suddenly new.
“Experience will nudge and stretch your soul,
Like rain on a seed helping life reach its goal.
It pushes and pulls us and helps us to grow,
In ways that information never could show.
“So keep your mind turning,” Aha said each day.
“Let questions come bouncing and dancing your way.
For learning means growing—and here is the truth:
When growth comes to halt, so does life and youth.”
