When I was in my fourth year of _________, I was a high school track coach(田径教练). One year, I had a student, John, who changed to our school from Greece, and seemed to be_________in sports, so I_________him to join our track team. I explained to him that_________he had never taken part in it before, I did believe that he could do well in any _________, and I would be_________to teach him at whichever ones interested him. He_________the offer, and began to work hard at every practice.

About a month_________, I had found out from other ways that John was a first-class tennis player, winning many _________in his home country. I went to him, asking, “John, I really enjoy that you came out for the track team, but why didn’t you__________tennis instead? It seems that would interest you a lot more, since you’re so __________at it.”

John answered, “well, I like tennis, but you told me that you believed in me, and that you thought I could do well in __________, so I wanted to try it for that reason.”

From then on, I often remember my student’s__________ I told it to a friend and she suggested I write it down to __________ somewhere with more teachers. No matter how critical(不满的) students can be of themselves, I’ve found that a simple “I __________ that you can do it!” can go a long way!

“Can we eat this one, Dad?” my four-year-old daughter, Alicia, asks. We’re on one of our Thursday adventures, searching the nearby woods for eatable mushrooms. She’s pointing at a bright-red cap covered with white dots. I pull out my handy mushroom-identification app, which notes that Amanita muscaria, while eatable if prepared properly, is also a known hallucinogen (致幻剂). I have a firm “tell them the truth and be as precise as possible” philosophy and explain what the app says, and that I don’t think our Thursday adventures are ready to get quite that adventurous yet.

Watching your kids learn new skills is extraordinarily rewarding, but I’ve experienced more personal growth than I have at any other point in my life.

Last year, after a winter of practicing skiing on the green tracks for beginners each week, Alicia was french-frying her way down blues and even attempted her first black. That month also witnessed me visiting the mountain more times than in the 15 years combined and I’ve got myself a partner for life.

It’s not all easy — but sometimes that’s the point. Alicia practices the violin every day, and although she enjoys it, even 15 minutes of practice can upset her. The trick, I’ve found, is to let her watch me try to get better at something, too. I start taking piano lessons at 41 years old with the idea that if she sees me struggling as I practice and then improve, she’ll understand that things don’t come easy, even for grown-ups. I know there’s going to be a time when I’ll end up on the sideline cheering her on as she finds her own passions. I’m okay with this, and I’m hoping that by then she’ll carry the joy of practice and skills through life.

How to Educate Yourself

Despite fears of automation （自动化）destroying jobs, history shows that new technology often ends up creating new jobs and opportunities. If you want to take advantage of these new jobs, you’ll need to be able to teach yourself new things.     24    . But the following process should get you off to a very good start.

Discover what you want to learn.

The obvious first step is to pick a skill or subject. You probably have an unclear idea in mind already, but you are encouraged to make it more specific. Let’s take learning piano as an example.     25    ? To play a few of your favorite songs? To play in a band with your friends? To become the next Carnegie Hall pianist? You can better record and study your learning progress by doing so.

Determine how you learn best.

You can start finding materials once a learning goal is set.     26    , you should do some self-reflection（反思）and determine your learning style. However, it’s not as simple as you thought. In reality, you probably learn well in multiple ways, and the best approach will also depend on the topic.

Start with the right learning resources.

If you’re totally new to a subject, you are recommended to read some existing learning resources to get started. Focus on resources that are designed for beginners. This way, you don’t develop bad habits.     27    .

Practice attentively.

When you practice attentively, you set a specific intention for your practice period and focus on only that. You’re also honest about your present performance, constantly asking how you can improve.     28    . You could play the guitar absently for 10,000 hours but still be no closer to a great guitarist. It requires attentive, focused practice.