On the drive home I was thinking about how even at 78 and 85 my parents are life long learners. Beside keeping current with new technology, they are always bettering themselves. My mother is always going to art demonstrations and has even attended Webinars to advance her techniques. My dad is always starting new projects which allows for learning. He writes news letters which promotes learning and is always learning something new with the computer!
Does being a lifelong learner come naturally? This article by Scott Young suggests that you can Cultivate Lifelong learning. (I dislike his first paragraph but the 15 steps make sense!)
Are you curious about your learning style? Finding out how you learn best might help you become a lifelong learner. Check out this short quiz from Edutopia. (you do not need to sign up).
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| I always thought I was a visual learner! (Interpersonal-interesting) |
I consider myself a life-long learner. Just recently I received my Graduate degree, participated in an Edublogs teacher challenge and joined Twitter to share & learn from other educators. This has enabled me to learn new strategies and techniques to engage, motivate and help my students become life long learners themselves!
Every day presents an opportunity to learn something new. Time to go learn!
What was the last thing you learned?
What was the last thing you learned?... at AnswerGarden.ch.
Thanks for sharing the link to the survey. I love being a life-log learner.
ReplyDeleteHi Nancy! It's hard to make time but I know it's essential for a long full life. Thanks for the post. The list of steps by Scott Young was good. I especially liked the "the morning 15". (but, why is it everyone feels the need to bash public education?) I also find it amazing that our folks are writing, participating in webinars, etc. How cool are they? You are right, excellent roll models!
ReplyDeleteHi Nancy,
ReplyDeleteI think if I wasn't learning something everyday there would be no reason for me to exist. Maybe because I'm a seven year old at heart. I continually marvel over the things I learn and what kids teach me.
Thanks for a great post!
JoAnn
Thank you all for your comments! Like you Paula - I love being a lifelong learner.
ReplyDelete@Carol Ann, it is hard to make time, but we do it sometimes unknowingly. Thank you for also questioning why people feel the need to bash public education.
@JoAnn, you describe how I feel to a "T" - I NEED to learn and feel fortunate that I work with ten year olds who often help me do that!!!
I feel that by my very job description as Tech Support, affectionately dubbed “guessing and then checking" (intelligently I always hope…), although yielding satisfaction and learning most every day, does not always turn out that way, especially when it comes to a particularly stubborn document camera. But defeat sometimes inspires me to keep on digging until I learn something new yet again! Thanks for your blogs that also help me to learn, and I love that your writing can be appreciated by such a wide and varied audience.
ReplyDeleteKaren JJ -
ReplyDeleteYou learn everyday and then WE learn from you...You are a great example of lifelong learning as you are always on the hunt to solve problems (which we thoroughly appreciate). Thank you for the kind words about my blogs as I'm hoping they are helpful! I love the diversity too!
Thanks for the links to keep us thinking about our everyday learning and our learning styles. I became a Geeky Gramma so I could keep up with my grandkids as well as keep up with my students :)
ReplyDeleteGreat post! You are so right that learning never ends....attended a workshop on Tuesday to learn about WriteOnline software. There is ALWAYS something new to learn!
ReplyDeleteNancy, I love this post. My poor cooking skills have been the joke for years! In an effort to eat more whole and organic foods I've dusted off a Cooking Simple cookbook I bought years ago, and I'm trying to teach myself how to cook.
ReplyDeleteI've been pleasantly surprised with how well things are turning out, but I learned an even bigger lesson that I can relate to my kiddos. Every time I cook something new, I wait with a mix of excitement and dread for my hubby's "assessment" of the night's meal. I am thrilled beyond words when it says it's delicious and literally crushed when he doesn't love something I make. This must be exactly how our kids feel - thrilled and excited by new learnings, compliments and positives from us and their peers. And then the tests come and they don't do as well, and it just crushes their spirit.
Thank you for helping me to reflect upon this so I can carry it into my classroom! :)
Great write-up! Writing is a talent, and it must not be wasted. As with everything that we had been entrusted, we should let it grow and share it with the world.>life long learner
ReplyDelete