Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader, a popular TV
show that ran from 2007 through 2019, featured adults being quizzed about basic knowledge from elementary school
textbooks—things that all kids were expected to know.  Now I have to admit, I never actually sat
through an entire show.  I couldn’t
handle more than a couple of minutes while channel surfing.  Inherent in the inquiry, however, is the question of whether
we as adults know everything we think we know, at least as far as the basics
are concerned.  As preppers, we can look
at those around us and proclaim that people out there don’t know or have near
enough to survive what is coming.  Hold
that thought.

One of the things I love about younger children—elementary school
age (those that haven’t been jaded by social media and an endless diet of video
games and corrupted by public education), is their desire to learn.  They are a little more humble and open to
learning.  They recognize that they don’t
know everything and they possess a natural desire to learn.  That already makes them
smarter than many adults.

Younger kids are also more open to teaching others what they
have learned, and most of the time they are a lot more patient.  Learning a new skill from a child can be a
lot of fun.  My daughter Becky had the
opportunity to learn about installing sprinkler systems from a ten-year-old
this past summer—that kid has a great work ethic.  Max was the best manager/trainer she’s
ever had.

As this country rushes headlong into economic collapse, war,
and societal upheaval, I recognize more and more how much I still have to learn
and do.  While hopefully most of the big
things have been covered, there are still so many little things that will make
life easier and more enjoyable when times are tough.  It’s why I keep researching and writing and
reading what others are doing.  I think
that quality of humility is essential to survival, especially to preppers.  

Several years ago, as my husband and sons
were discussing who they’d like to be in a group with in the event of collapse,
my husband mentioned a certain individual and all the reasons why he’d want
this person.  And many other groups would
want this person for the very same reason—s/he possesses a lot of desirable
traits and skills.  Unfortunately, this
person was at the top of my list of people not to join with, for the simple
reasons that s/he isn’t humble.  S/he
already knows it all.  S/he routinely
dismisses valuable information because it doesn’t fit with what s/he “knows”.  And someone like that is more of a liability
than an asset to any group.  As I pointed
this out to my husband and sons (with specific examples to support my argument
that I cannot share here lest someone close to me realize who I’m writing about),
they all recognized the truth of my words. 

One of my stops each day is PrepperWebsite.com.  Todd Sepulveda selects seven articles each
day that address various aspects of preparedness ranging from very beginner to
advanced.  I don’t read all of them.  Some are just outside my fields of
responsibility—I don’t do anything with firearms around here for the simple
fact that I lack the finger and hand strength to hold the gun and pull the
trigger.  Others just don’t pertain at
all, like no one here drinks coffee so we don’t really need to know how to
store it or get the most from every package. 
But I do try to read or at least skim most of the others, even if I
think I will disagree with the information presented.  It’s important to be able to look at other
sides to an argument or consider preserving a food I’d never given much thought
to.  Honestly, I’d never thought about
canning cranberries, but an article earlier this month addressed just that
idea.  Now, I’m not sure I’ll run out and
stock up on fresh cranberries to can, but if I came across a screaming deal on
them, I’d probably pick some up to make juice and maybe a batch of jam. 

At the same time, be discerning.  It’s critical to seek sources.  Don’t be gullible, and don’t just accept
information because it’s presented on the internet, including this blog.  And practice! 
The easiest articles to write for any blogger are the ones that don’t
require (or perform) research.  Like this
article today.  They’re also the easiest
to read because not much is demanded of the reader.  There is no investment of time to learn or
prepare. 

When it comes to food, that practice is especially
critical.  I read at least once a month
of someone’s recommendation to substitute beans for oil on baking.  I’m pretty sure those advocating the practice
either haven’t actually tried it or they are pretty bad cooks or they’re vegan
wackos (and the last two may not be mutually exclusive).  In my experience, the results are edible, but
only barely so.  Of course, that could be
a factor of the recipe used.  Your mileage
may vary.  But I think substituting
coconut oil for butter in baking works extremely well.  Again, though, that is my experience.  Before readers rush to stock up on coconut
oil, it would be best to try it out in several recipes first. 

Experimenting—being humble and inquisitive—is so critical to
learning.  An urban myth circulating
around 18th century England suggested the unbelievable—that milkmaids
had beautiful skin and didn’t get smallpox. 
How could that be true?  And yet,
Edward Jenner started doing some research and experimenting, and wow, he learns
something new for the world.  And then he
goes on to develop smallpox inoculation. 
(Is anyone else noticing an increasing number of references to smallpox
in the media?  It’s giving me the
willies.  I’d rather they go back to
screaming about Ebola.)

Of course, we can’t do it all.  Most of us can’t become masters in every
subject.  But we can become a jack of
most trades and masters of something.  View
each new day as an opportunity to learn, whether it’s going outside and
identifying edible and medicinal plants, testing out whether wood ash actually
works as snow melt (I’m getting skeptical about that), or trying out a new-to-you way of using powdered milk. 

They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. 
The old dog is set in his ways. 
If we want to prepare well and survive and thrive during the challenges
ahead, we can’t be the old dog.  If we
want to be smarter and better prepared than a 5th grader, we have to be humble and willing to
learn.