On 8 Jan 1996, Rol Fessenden wrote:
> Roy Winkler brings up an excellent issue. "How do we marry secondary and
> post-secondary education with the needs of the workplace in such a way
> that we condition individuals to be life-long learners by the time they
> enter the workforce? This, more than many other strategies, should
> produce people who are adept and accepting of participation in a learning
> organization."
>
> I enthuiastically second this suggestion. Can we define the essential
> characteristics of a life-long learner? Can we develop an educational
> program that would reliably produce one? How could we test it? This has
> to be THE single most important issue facing us, not only in the
> workplace, but also in the realm of good, informed citizenship.
Since I work in a community college setting, this is right down my alley.
I would point out, however, that most of our students are already _in_
the workplace by the time we get them. And their learning tends to be the
better for that in my experience.
One place to start might be an understanding--Marion Brady comes to mind
as a resource--of how we destroy the natural drive to learning and growth
that sustains us all until approximately the first or second grade. The
characteristics are admirably demonstrated by our youngest learners, and
we have a marvelous example of how _not_ to educate them.
I would advocate paying close attention to what it is that people _do_
continue to learn about in their life and explore just what it is that
calls forth that response. My hunch is that it ties into much of what
Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi calls the "flow" experience and what Bernie
DeKoven and others might call a natural "playfulness" which resides at the
core of our learning and growing.
It doesn't have to look like "fun" all the time, by any means. It can--and
should be--a seriously challenging and intrinsically rewarding process if
it is to call us outside of our comfort zone on a regular basis. It has
something to do with the development of a "true" self-esteem built on our
own perception of achievement and enhanced awareness of the life that
confronts us. It isn't something we can "teach"--the many successful
"teachers" out there notwithstanding--but I think we can do much to make
it possible to learn.
A problem I keep running into in myself is wanting to "help" others learn
what _I_ think they need to learn and, preferably in the _ways_ I like to
them to learn (which often look a lot like the ways I like to learn). I
keep focusing on "outcomes" in others rather than continuing to be
attentive to "learning" from whatever happens myself.
My current vote for "curriculum" in this venture would include skills of
listening, dialogue, creativity, relationships, accountability,
experimentation, openness to new ideas, enthusiasm, playfulness, and
compassion. Stewardship as Peter Block describes it comes mighty close to
a pedegogy in some ways. Learning with spirit--as happens so often right
here on the list.
And then there are the things we _do_ as a result of what we are
learning--another whole universe to explore!!
Will wonders never cease! Thanks, Roy and Rol, for the invitation to play
with the idea.
-- Tobin Quereau Austin Community College quereau@austin.cc.tx.us