Apprendre

Today, I stumbled across this inspiring perspective on education in an article I was reading:

« Apprendre, c’est savoir être humble.  L’apprentissage est une démarche qui n’est pas orgueilleuse, mais n’en reste pas moins audacieuse. Celui qui s’y engage prend des risques, évolue le plus souvent en terrain inconnu. »

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“Learning is knowing how to be humble. While learning is a process that cannot be approached with arrogance, it nonetheless requires boldness.  Those who engage in learning take risks, developing most often in uncharted territory.”

I like this quote because it signifies to me that learning isn’t necessarily about knowing everything, but about knowing what you DON’T know.

I’ve been making progress on my ‘Mémoire de Stage’, my 30-page dissertation on the role of French and American think tanks in the process of decision making with regard to international climate change negotiations; it requires me to use resources made available to me by my internship at the Centre d’analyse stratégique, among others.

Addressing the broad and difficult question of climate change is a bit challenging, especially when I’m learning about an unfamiliar subject in another language! But I’m trying to keep in mind that, as this quotation suggests, I can’t expect to know everything!

From the the cap of a strawberry-banana smoothie at an all-organic café in London: "Best when chilled (as indeed we all are)". Love it!