To all parents, grandparents, and mentors helping to oversee a child’s education, you are the real heroes!

Part of your job is to help your student acquire a life-long love of learning—easier said than done with some children, of course. But you may be having more success than you realize.

Think back to your own education? What memories do you recall about studying? Do you remember where your studying took place?

I have two memories: first, I remember doing homework at our cramped kitchen table (how many of you share that memory?). But since our kitchen table was in a cold alcove, my memory of textbooks and notebooks is intertwined with wooly socks, warm sweaters, and hot cocoa—cozy memories. Learning meant comfort, no matter how hard the homework was.

Then, when I was 13, a miracle took place. I got new bedroom furniture. Not just new, but trendy: two twin beds with white tufted headboards, and a white-and-gold French Provincial night table. Plus, are you ready for this? A blue “Princess” phone.

Do you know what the greatest thing about it was? I could sit between the beds on a big pillow, and arrange my textbooks on one bed, and notebook paper on the other. My mother was upset by my new pattern, for she considered it an improper environment for learning. But for me, moving my studies into my own room seemed tremendously grown-up. Learning quickly left the realm of hot cocoa and shone as a key to the future.

What does that all say? I believe learning taps our emotions as much as our intellects. The act of learning traces curious, but specific, memories that extend far beyond the academic or intellectual products.

How we feel about learning may be as important as what we learn. It sets a pattern for our long life as adult learners.

Try to seed the spirit of discovery, for it is the greatest aid to learning. It’s not always easy to do, but you may be having more success than you realize. In ways you could never predict.

Meanwhile, keep discovering everything you can, including “Discovering Music.”