Scott's N-Cites

New Tricks for an Old Dog

I finished the Real Estate Principles and Practices class today. It was 40 hours of class in 4 days and I learned a lot. Tomorrow will be the last day of Real Estate Law (also a 40 hour class in 4 days). Next week I’ll have 20 hours of Finance and then be ready to take the licensing exam.

One thing that has really surprised me has been how much I’m enjoying the math. I never enjoyed math before, and wasn’t very good at anything beyond budgeting. I don’t want to blame others for that deficiency but to be honest my high school math teacher wasn’t exactly on the top ten list (or 20... or 30) of the best teachers I ever had. In contrast, this instructor has done a great job teaching some important formulas. It really helped when the instructor said, "If you want to make any money it would be a good idea to know how to calculate commissions, acreage, gross monthly rent for investment properties, etc. " That introduced a new level of motivation for me! Although I’m no Albert Einstein, I’m at least gaining some competence and feeling much more confident.

Besides the nuts and bolts of real estate, here are a few of the lessons I’m learning:

• Who the teacher is can make a huge difference in the attitude of the students and consequently, their grasp of the material. My instructor loves real estate and his enthusiasm is contagious. I want my enthusiasm for Jesus to be contagious.
• You just might be able to teach an old dog some new tricks. If I can learn math, all things must really be possible with God!
• Connecting practical application with theory is a great motivator in education.
  
  Today’s N-Cite: When it comes to teaching my children, I want to keeping things practical and set a positive example of being a life-long learner. Have you been learning any new tricks lately?

posted by Scott @ 9:45 PM