Learning Curves is Communication

Welcome to the first in a series of insights and discussions the living curve of learning and the current day concepts of trivium education philosophy.  Brought to you by Laurette Lynn

It is often said that communication is key, but how many of us use that phrase without truly understanding the significance of its meaning?

to communicate is to commune and to relate

Communication IS key to establishing and maintaining healthy relationships with other people and with  our world.  It is how we relate to one another and how we commune.  Language is what we use to express our ideas, our hopes, our desires, our concerns and our emotions.   By understanding and utilizing the art of written and oral language, we can convey these expressions and thus commune more effectively with everyone whom we choose; and avoid communing with those whom we may not wish to commune.


Communication is an art in and of itself.  Language is an art, hence the term “language arts”.  We are familiar with this term from school, but few us of us recognize the value in those deliberate words.  We are also familiar with the term grammar but most of us consider it but an extension arm of the Language Arts classes that must be completed in school.  We associate grammar with circling verbs in sentences or memorizing prepositions but, thanks to the intellectual lethargy of systematized schooling, we never truly learn to identify what the grammar of any topic is; and so we never truly appreciate the magnificent and crucial human skill that is the Art of Language.  being the foundation of this art, and there’s that spiral beginning to elucidate.

Grammar is more than the distinction between a noun and a verb.  It is that, and it is more than that.  It is the base of language and the foundation of communication.  Really, grammar is the raw principle and anything, because everything is expressed in language.  Specifically in language, grammar is the infrastructure of the expression of ideas; the beams and joists.  So grammar refers to our first contact with a newly expressed idea - it is the beginning or,  the initial discovery. 


Discovery is our first contact with everything be it physical or existential as in an idea or concept. We discover by hearing, seeing, smelling, tasting, feeling or any combination therein Sometimes this might also include sensing. This is how we receive all that is being communicated by nature, and everything and everyone in our experience.

When we first encounter something; an object, an idea, a word, a persons face etc. we make a mental association and file it in our memory.  

We then determine what we have just discovered by using some sort of language. Our brain translates images, sounds, sensations, vibrations etc into thoughts as cerebral synapses fire to form life-long connections between that discovery and a cognitive explanation. This process utilizes language. For instance, the word “tree” is the linguistic name associated with the image and connected to an understanding of what it represents.  The word "love" is an association with a feeling we experience in the presence of someone who elicits a particular physical/emotional sensation.


Logic is not just a quirk for Mr. Spok.  We utilize the skill of logic to understand.  Harnessing the skill of logic helps support the entire experience of learning/communicating and thus our interpersonal relationship with everyone and everything.

Understanding is how we analyze what we have discovered and take time to explore the concept of it, the structure of it and/or the essence of it in order to understand what it is, how it functions and more importantly, how it affects us. 

Understanding a concept is not a finite thing; it is an ongoing experience that bends and stretches as time unfolds and as our perception expands to include more discoveries.  Intellectual flexibility is crucial to well rounded learning and life experience.  While holding steadfast to our core beliefs, we must always allow room for growth when healthy and useful information is presented.  Learning to analyze our discovery in a healthy manner is vital to our ability to communicate the concepts and relate to our world.  We must learn to demand quality and value in all that the world offers, in order to maintain balanced spiritual, intellectual and physical health.

(In other posts, I discuss the skill of discernment in logic in more depth and I encourage you to explore those concepts as well.)
 
Rhetoric is more than political chatter.  In fact, the art of rhetoric is not chatter at all.  It is a skill and one worthy of achieving mastery.

Reiteration is a moving forward as well as a reinforcement of discovery and understanding.   When we reiterate an idea back out into the world we use spoken or written language, action or creative expression as forms of communication. When we do this, we help solidify our own understanding of it, and help the rest of the world discover our perception… perpetually expanding the universe though constant communicated information.  

Communication is Creation

In essence, we create constantly... for this is the circle of life. The value of what we create depends on how well we express ourselves, and that requires a deeper appreciation for, and ability to utilize this already existing, natural and very primal human trait.

In order to properly explain or express ourselves, we need to understand what we discover; and in order for others to understand us coherently, we must master the skill of communication.  Essentially, grammar and logic (discovery and understanding) are the pillars of rhetoric (communicaiton) and thus support the finess and effectiveness of our ability to relay ideas and relate to our world.

This is all a natural part of this spiraling trilogy to which I refer as the Learning Curve.

Learning Curves