There are many people who consider education to be over after they've graduated high school or college. In this view, life can be seen in three parts: childhood, education, and then work/family. Education would be no longer relevant once they've secured a career or started a family, as they turn their energy toward those endeavors.
However, life is full of new experiences, new technologies, and new areas of inquiry. Some people recognize that, and as a result they may pursue higher degrees in formal education, or simply take hold of educational opportunities as they find them throughout life.
Lifetime learning is popular phrase among those who return to higher education later in life as well. They may have already had a full career, or have realized that the career path they chose is not fulfilling.
In any case, lifetime learning is a fluid and adaptable concept which serves to unite many types of people in the joy of learning.
In my opinion, lifelong learners are those with a never-say-die attitude towards learning.
We live in dynamic times.
Though academic institutions are considered as the beacons of formal learning, many a time we discover once out of the hallowed portals of academia that there are indeed gaps in our learning that need filling; some lessons to be unlearned and a few more unlearned ones to be learnt as well.
The world of work is constantly evolving and to stay attuned to the pace of change one needs to be ever ready to "upskill" and then some more. For, who knows whether the job that you "own" today might go to a robot tomorrow or there's an algorithm that comes up which can handle it all by itself.
Likewise, life itself can throw at you such mean punches that some new lessons land up from nowhere like veritable bolts from the blue. In his bestseller The Black Swan, author Nassim Nicholas Taleb predicts the occurrence of highly unlikely phenomena that have the potential to leave a trial of devastating consequences in their wake.
We are in a time when we cannot even turn a blind eye to our blind spots.
Thomas Friedman aptly says "If you want to be a lifelong employee anywhere today, you have to be a lifelong learner".
Thankfully, there is no dearth for learning to a seeker. Nothing learned, nothing ventured, nothing gained.
The ocean of learning is an ocean of abundance, whether one wants to tap into it with a tea spoon or by the bucketfuls or hitch a tractor trailer to it - the choice is solely dependent on the severity of one's thirst. Learn new everyday, be it a hobby or a craft or a course - the world wide web is full of MOOCs (massive open online courses.)
"The wise shall learn." - Lailah Gifty Akita
To me, being a lifelong learner means actively seeking out new opportunities to learn and grow. Lifelong learners aren't passive; they don't sit and wait for experiences to come to them.
Lifelong learning means never losing your curiosity about the world around you, how it works, and the people in it. It means challenging yourself and refusing to get complacent or too comfortable. It means being open-minded and willing to ask questions—even difficult ones and ones about yourself.
It means maintaining a sense of wonder and investigating the world around you like an eager detective. It means seeking out new experiences and ideas and not being afraid to challenge your own worldview and values. In short, lifelong learning means never settling for "good enough" or the way things have always been.
No comments:
Post a Comment