Smarter than a fifth grader

When my kids were in elementary school, they would spit out information faster than I could keep up. I remember one time my middle son explaining to me how the tectonic shift in the plates that make up the Earth’s crust created the continents and map that we know today.

I tried to respond, but I remember thinking: “I have nothing to add, he knows more than me.”

Another time, my youngest son at dinner explained to me how Physics work. Now there’s no hope of me trying to explain it to you today, but for thirty minutes at the dinner table, one night in 2018, I felt like I was one of two or three people in the world, who understood the study of matter. I felt so smart, like I could hang with some of the smartest people on the planet. I walked away from the table with a little strut and yelled for Bill Gates to “eat my dust,” Jeff Bezos “to talk to the hand, because the face wasn’t listening,” and the rocket scientists at NASA to leave a message on my answering machine because I was too busy to pick-up their call. Yea, don’t ask, I was losing it.

Anyway, I write today on the Heart of the Matter in my post, Role reversal: Learning from my kids, on how the tectonic plates in my life as a father have shifted and I now learn more from my adult kids than what they learn from me. Oh, yes, some of that makes all the sense in the world. They’re really smart adults, but it’s still a little disconcerting.

Here’s what I mean. I’m well educated. I have a master’s degree. I’ve experienced much in my life. But, I find that I’m asking myself a lot: “How did they get so smart?”

Check out my story on the Heart of the Matter and let me know what you think.

Related Story:

Role reversal: Learning from my kids

on The Heart of The Matter.