My husband is a preschool teacher, and we often discuss attitudes of young
children and we both believe that learning is something that is either
embraced or rejected from early on. It is very difficult to instill the
yearning to learn in a grade 2 student who looks forward to snowstorms and
school closings, who sees school as a chore and who cannot wait for summer
holidays.
I think early exposure to the benefits of continual learning is something
that is transcended from parent to child, and from teacher to student. It
can be done in many ways, we try to encourage our children to read, to
learn, to always look for answers to questions... We are examples of what
we preach since both of us are still taking night or correspondence
courses. We encourage learning not only in the traditional sense of
schooling, but also in experimentation.
I have found that "life-long learners" are generally those who have never
stopped wanting to know more, who have always found delight in discovering
new things (not just theoretic, but practical) and who are generally
involved in many activities outside their work.
In my opinion, if we are to change the culture of organizations by making
learning a daily option (not just once a year for a week) then we must
address the desire to learn, for even though the best opportunities might
be there, if the desire isn't, it won't amount to much. In talking to
grade school students and trying to empower them with self-confidence,
I've found that the need to learn, to know, to discover, is already
present or absent even in the earlier stages of life...
-- Sylvie Hanes Andersen Consulting, Ottawa Canada Sylvie.A.Hanes@ac.com