As often is the case, Hank had the initial idea: why not institute a series of concentrated presentations that may be helpful to our audience? The titles of these series (A Sprint Through and What’s So Great About?) were mine, though. Both wordings reflect pedagogical approaches that have guided my thinking for the last three decades.

What’s So Great About? largely rewords a question I began to use more frequently in my university classes, especially once the terrors of seeking tenure were past. Whereas I began my professorship spouting fancier terms, the ability to meet a student’s academic assertion with a direct “So what?” had surprising efficacy.

Let’s face it. Isn’t this what students want to know when they learn, particularly once they reach the ages of Junior High and High School? “Fine, I will undertake all of this hard learning you require of me, but why? What does it really matter?” Or, if you will, “So what?”

The idea of sprinting enthusiastically, if superficially, through tough new topics involves a different pedagogical approach. Most walks of adult life cause us to tackle mountains of information that must be understood quickly, even if superficially. This reality applies not just to academic subjects or professional ventures, but to life itself! Consider a mom faced with a child suddenly diagnosed with a medical condition or extreme dietary restriction. I shake my head in wonder at one beloved friend, a long-ago grad student at SMU and wonderful scholar who, today, is raising and homeschooling a household full of children. She had to make a quick study following the diagnosis of severe dietary restrictions for a specific child. Educating herself by sprinting through a flood of resources, she created a parallel kitchen while maintaining the flow of her homeschool and complex household.

One of the biggest learning sprints I ever made began in 2005 after we moved out to the country in North Central Texas. Just yesterday I found my first “Kidding Records Book” wherein the details on each new baby goat were entered: time of birth, status (live, weak, stillborn), weight and girth, gender (yes, goats are still either bucks or does), markings, and notes on any complications during birth. The temptation to recount dramatic or endearing stories evoked by this record book is hard to resist, but I will.

Shortly afterwards, Hank and I began the endeavor called Professor Carol which was followed by the unexpected opportunity in 2011 for me to begin working as a Smithsonian lecturer around the world. I’m not sure which mountain was harder to climb, but both paths required me to sprint through topics utterly foreign to my background, from operating a small business to making a quick-study of topics like “Northern Indian Classical Music” while preparing cultural lectures.

But despite that awful feeling of being daunted by something, we usually find that our initial knowledge about a valuable topic will grow. And so, I came to trust the idea of taking on new subjects head-on, hitting the high points, gathering sufficient resources to plant at least one foot, and then trusting that my proficiency would grow. This kind of learning may not sound radical—perhaps you have always studied this way. But for me, trained as an academic musicologist to forego the overview in favor of a deep dive, it took time to embrace a more general approach.

And yes! Conducting these “so what?” and “sprint” sessions has been terrific fun. Last night’s offering called What’s So Great About the Pipe Organ? took a group of us from the Ancient Greek water-organ (hydraulis) to the digital era. Yet, there were still chances to dwell on selected fascinating aspects of the subject. This coming Tuesday Evening, March 2, a Sprint Through the Enlightenment will continue our series of historical sprints as we examine the amazing decades wherein the ideas of the Enlightenment changed the world.

And remember: while the joy of learning as an adult is not celebrated in our culture, few things are sweeter. In a recent podcast with my colleague Lesli Richards (The Homegrown Preschooler), she told the story of finally deciding to cast off the idea that she was a failed athlete. She took herself regularly to the batting cages and, as ball after ball was spit out, she found out she could hit, and rather well at that! Ultimately, she joined a softball team sponsored by her work place. As another example, laugh if you want to, but this past summer, I finally learned to swim underwater without nose plugs.

Whether it’s the French language, calculus, or kayaking, standing before something and figuring it out brings an undeniable joy in life. Our children are called upon to do this regularly. So let us re-embrace the same challenge. And let me know what topics are of interest for you. All of the links for registration for both our Sprint and So What series can be found here.