Knowing how one learns
Nothing like figuring out what you want to do when you grow at age 53, huh?
I would love to become a certified therapeutic riding instructor. I love everything about therapeutic riding, and have loved every minute of volunteering at Horse Power. There are several ways to become certified, and the academic one near me had an information meeting, so I went.
I'm afraid I am too much of an autodidact, even though I loved taking classes when I was younger. Actually, I realize now that what I loved was the learning that happened from taking classes, the papers, projects, exams, not so much. Now, further away from my school years, I find myself even less patient with someone else's learning agenda.
Over the years as I have taught myself various things, I have learned how I learn best. I would happily get any number of advanced degrees in any number of fields if that consisted of giving me a syllabus and resources and letting me take it from there. I'd be more than happy to have a long conversation with the professor about what I learned and where that learning led me. I'd even be happy to write all those thoughts down. I'd probably even really enjoy the whole process. Lectures that added to and didn't repeat the reading would be great. Voluntary discussion sections where people actually discussed the material because they wanted to be there would be interesting.
Grades? Not so motivating for me anymore. Group projects? No. They were never good to begin with, and I'm pretty sure it would be the end of someone if I had to do one now. Having to cover material I already know? Who actually has time for that when there is so much else to learn? Teachers who, for whatever reason, feel the need to trick their students, either with exams that are not fair or by playing mind reading guessing games? Why? Why would I pay money to encourage that?
I realize I am no longer a good candidate for formal schooling. I don't play well with others. And whatever little patience I used to possess, in some arenas of life, seems to have completely left me. So I will move on to Plan B towards my career goal. Happily, there is a Plan B, and it seems to mesh much better with my natural learning style.
I would love to become a certified therapeutic riding instructor. I love everything about therapeutic riding, and have loved every minute of volunteering at Horse Power. There are several ways to become certified, and the academic one near me had an information meeting, so I went.
I'm afraid I am too much of an autodidact, even though I loved taking classes when I was younger. Actually, I realize now that what I loved was the learning that happened from taking classes, the papers, projects, exams, not so much. Now, further away from my school years, I find myself even less patient with someone else's learning agenda.
Over the years as I have taught myself various things, I have learned how I learn best. I would happily get any number of advanced degrees in any number of fields if that consisted of giving me a syllabus and resources and letting me take it from there. I'd be more than happy to have a long conversation with the professor about what I learned and where that learning led me. I'd even be happy to write all those thoughts down. I'd probably even really enjoy the whole process. Lectures that added to and didn't repeat the reading would be great. Voluntary discussion sections where people actually discussed the material because they wanted to be there would be interesting.
Grades? Not so motivating for me anymore. Group projects? No. They were never good to begin with, and I'm pretty sure it would be the end of someone if I had to do one now. Having to cover material I already know? Who actually has time for that when there is so much else to learn? Teachers who, for whatever reason, feel the need to trick their students, either with exams that are not fair or by playing mind reading guessing games? Why? Why would I pay money to encourage that?
I realize I am no longer a good candidate for formal schooling. I don't play well with others. And whatever little patience I used to possess, in some arenas of life, seems to have completely left me. So I will move on to Plan B towards my career goal. Happily, there is a Plan B, and it seems to mesh much better with my natural learning style.
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