Learning curves.

Learning is a part of life that cuts across every phase. I once heard that he who stops learning, starts to die. Learning also takes place in two forms which are informal and formal learning. While formal learning is gotten within the four walls of an institution, informal learning is gotten from diverse places like the home, church, mosque, age group meetings and other socio-cultural gatherings. The key is for a change to occur because learning primarily means a change in behaviour.

In regards to learning, I will be sharing my thoughts below, for today's #inleo prompt that states

Something learned as a child and used in your adulthood.

Growing up under strict parents meant that there was a lot to learn and quickly too or else we (the kids) would be visited with series of slaps or knocks on the head.

I remember one time when we used to live in a face me I face you compound at Ajegunle in Lagos State. The compound was filled with different tenants with their various palava. There was always drama and quarrels never cease.

From a woman holding tightly to her husband's shirt because he did not drop food money to a drunk husband coming to steal his wife's money to get more liquor or to fights for turns to use the bathroom, hehe. It was a commotion of endless drama and I positioned myself as the local community journalist that would record everything with my eyes and ears then use the news as gist later to entertain my friends.

I would usually begin with "Do you know what happened today?" and that was enough to get me chattering like a parrot on heat😁. My friends would egg me on with their "oohs" and "aahs" and peals of laughter that seemed to soften my heart. This continued for a long time till I was caught by my dad.

He was looking for me and decided to check the backyard only for him to hear me dishing out my tales with so much enthusiasm. I was narrating how a drunk husband had beaten up his wife because he couldn't find money at the usual spot and the wife dared to tell him that she had hidden the money somewhere else where he would not find it.

As I continued my narration, I was also adding some dramatics for better effects, unknown to me that my dad had been watching me secretly. He wss patient till I was done, then he called my name and asked me to come inside. I thought nothing amiss and went in to see him like he requested but his stern gaze told me otherwise. He voiced my name thrice, sighed and said "I heard all you were telling your friends and I am not pleased about it".

"Daddy why, I only told them what I saw with my eyes" I tried to justify my actions.

"You need to learn to not say everything your eyes sees, thay way you won't be endangered or speak out of line." My dad made me realise that what I did was akin to gossip as the matter was a family issue. He thought me to think before I speak and not say things that would hurt others.

I won't lie and say that I followed his teachings diligently. At a time I derailed from it but fortunately I was reminded of this teaching in my early adult years and have been following it.

There was this lady in the school where I worked, she was fond of documenting a wrong time in our log book. She would come late to school but sign 7:30am. I noticed it but said nothing. Other teachers noticed it too and they were confronted her but I feigned ignorance because I knew that a day retribution was coming.

When she was laid off work, one of the reasons was that wrong time signage. She was upset and quarrelled with those teachers who confronted her while I was not mentioned. Indeed my dad's teachings has helped me many a time to safe guard my mouth and my life and I will forever treasure those teachings till my last breath.

This is my response to the #aprilinleo initiative for day 16.

Thank you all for reading...shalom.

Images used are mine.