A Learning Process

Photo by B.R. Perkins, 1945
Image courtesy ArtToday.com

A Learning Process

"Indeed, I suspected that there would always be more to learn about service and love, that such things were fathomless and limitless, and, thus, in a sense, the notion of being 'fully trained,' or knowing all there was to know, was in actuality less of a practical goal than a lovely ideal, one which might be approached ever more closely, but would never be, and perhaps should never be, fully attained. Let the girl revel in her growth, and not fear that one day there will be no more to learn, nowhere else to go. There are no summits on the heights of love."
John Norman, Dancer of Gor, p. 129

"Perhaps the most valuable result of all education is the ability to make yourself do the thing you have to do, when it ought to be done, whether you like it or not; it is the first lesson that ought to be learned; and however early a man's training begins, it is probably the last lesson that he learns thoroughly."
Thomas Henry Huxley, Technical Education, 1877

As some of arani's friends already know, she is a teacher by trade. she has a Master's degree in a field relating to special education, and has been employed in that pursuit for 17 years now. It is a source of satisfaction for this one to see her students leave school as productive and active participants of the world around them.

Well, not all of what a girl has to do as part of her job is enjoyable. Every vocation has certain tasks that must be done, pleasant or not, for various reasons. Recently, arani participated in a "professional development day" provided by her school and a number of surrounding districts as well. This involved bringing in some speakers to educate and motivate those in the teaching profession, and hopefully enable them to better serve their students.

As is typical of this type of affair, some of the speakers were highly informative and entertaining. Others, while they provided worthwhile information, did so in a manner that was dry and difficult to listen to. arani learned much on this day, and she hopes to be able to use this new information for the benefit of her students.

This, in itself, does not surprise this girl. What did surprise her was how much of what she learned she could apply to her search for knowledge as a slave. The principles of teaching apply to slavery as much as they do to mathematics, or reading, or spelling. It just takes a little thought to realize the truth of this.

arani will share with her readers one particular tidbit that she garnered during her day of a different sort of training. A noted researcher in the field of education, Dr. William Glasser, has published the following theory on how people learn. We learn:
10% of what we read
20% of what we hear
30% of what we see
50% of what we see and hear
70% of what we discuss with others
80% of what we experience personally
95% of what we teach someone else
So, an interesting little tidbit of information. But what does it tell us? This is what arani has concluded:

One of the first things a new slave is taught is that the best way to learn about Gor is to read the books. arani certainly does not dispute this; she has said so herself and will continue to say so. But, it is apparent that this should not be the only tool used in learning about Gor, as we only learn 10% of what we read (if that is the only tool for learning that we use).

If we learn 20% of what we hear, what does this mean? To arani, it means that we must also listen to the words of those who have been part of this lifestyle. We must listen to not only their instruction on how to do things, but also to their perceptions and their experiences. What worked for them, what didn't work, what do they recommend?

A slave also needs to watch, and learn from what she sees. This includes not only watching what steps a more experienced slave goes through in her serve, or how she does a nadu. It also means watching how she behaves around the Free and around other slaves. How do the Free respond when a slave behaves in a certain way? All sorts of information that can be gleaned from watching what goes on around us. And if you combine this with the knowledge garnered from what is seen, there you have a 50% success rate. Not too bad.

Now, how about the 70% that we supposedly learn from discussing with others. When two or more slaves are in a room, and are not serving, they will often begin speaking among themselves, either in the open room or in private. Many times the conversation will go something like this. "Do you know how to serve kal-da?" or "How does Master So-and-So like His paga served?" or "Boy, did you see her get in big trouble when she. . ." The list goes on and on.

Often, such talk is mere gossip, and is not to be encouraged. But, many times, there is real information being shared. And again, this information is not just on technique. It also has to do with a sharing of beliefs, an understanding of why we do what we do, what it is that makes us slaves.

Or, how about when a slave has served a Master and is kneeling at His feet? What a perfect opportunity for her to learn. Maybe He doesn't know or care whether topsits are used in the making of kal-da. But He does have beliefs about what Gor is all about, or how a slave should behave when she is serving Him. What better way for a slave to learn how to please a particular Master than from the Man Himself?

OK, what's next on the list? According to Glasser, we learn 80% of what we experience personally. That means not just sitting back and watching everyone else from the shadows. That means getting your little derriere out there and getting involved. So you mess up a few times. If you are corrected for a mistake, thank the Free Person who took the time to correct you, and learn from that mistake. Do it better the next time. Here's where another old saying comes in handy..."Practice makes perfect."

Now we come to the final item on the list. We learn 95% of what we teach someone else. Whoa, you say. Teach someone else? this girl is still learning herself! How can she teach someone else?

arani would be the first one to tell you that she still has a lot to learn about Gor. Just the other night, she made a big mistake, that very nearly got her banned from a channel. But, she will share something with her readers. Writing the articles in this site has been a great learning experience for arani. By putting these things down on paper, she has come to a better understanding of herself, and of Gor.

arani has been a part of the Gorean lifestyle for almost two years now. she has been active in the training of slaves belonging to two different taverns. But sometimes she still has to be reminded of what she should know and remember. More than once a slave has come to this one and said, "Don't you remember? You told me. . ." And arani has had to take a step back, look at herself, and admit that she has forgotten an important lesson. The student has become the teacher.

So, what does all this mean? Simply put, it means that we all need to utilize a variety of means for learning about anything we wish to know about. It might be bowling, or calculus, or slavery. We should not restrict ourselves to only reading the Gor novels or websites, or only sitting in a chat room and watching silently what goes on around us. We should make use of a variety of modalities, so that we can come to a better understanding of who we are, and why we are slaves.

arani wishes her sisters and brothers much joy in their slavery, and success in their search for knowledge.

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