I recently finished watching the presentation on the 7 1/2 lifelong learning habits, and I'm pleased to say that I see myself as a natural lifelong learner.
I do think, though, that as with anything or anyone, I have obstacles I have to overcome or work toward tackling in order to make me a better learner.
Personally, I see two fairly large negatives that tend to hinder my learning abilities. The one I feel is most difficult for me to deal with is that I am not as adept in vocal explanation as I would like to be. I find that it's an awkward task for me, and that causes me to shy away or avoid teaching others. It's hard for me to present my ideas in a concise and logical manner. I've noticed that I tend to be anecdotal, and I throw in unnecessary details when providing an explanation. This confuses people, and then the lesson becomes clouded. I feel that working toward taking the time to slow down and organize my thoughts before beginning to express them would deter my choppy explanations, and unclear instruction.
The second negative is one that I feel has been a larger problem in the past than it is for me in present day. I tend to view problems as problems rather than challenges. In turn, these "problems" upset me if I cannot find a solution to them in a timely manner, which causes me to act more with emotion rather than rational thought. Though I feel I've gotten better at seeing obstacles as a challenge rather than a problem, it wasn't an easy road. Several very large obstacles have managed to roll their way onto my path, and persevering through them and essentially rolling them out of my way, or finding a route around them have made me feel as if life is more "challenging" and less "problematic".
One of the main obstacles that really educated me about my views on life and learning was when my husband was diagnosed with
Hodgkins Lymphoma in 2003. Not only was my role as care giver during his cancer treatment and the constant impending fear in the back of my mind a strain, but the long, drawn out downward spiral of job loss, leading to loss of insurance coverage and eventually the financial ruin that became our lives left us feeling as close to hopeless as we've ever been. In the midst of all of this turmoil, I learned the absolute number one most valuable lesson that I've ever learned in all of the 35 years I've been on this planet so far:
Live for today. Embrace the good moments every chance you get.
Don't just assume another will come along. Once I was able to learn that, all of that other stuff seemed so much less overwhelming. It was then a
challenge for us to rise above, rather than a
problem that was sucking the life force from us. We're still working our way to the top of the heap, but the important thing is that we're taking time to make sure that no matter what, we remember that we have
everything if we have each other, and in order to be receptive to finding joy in those special little moments that appear, one must be looking for it.
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Conversely, I feel blessed that several of the points covered in the presentation come to me quite naturally, borne of my curiosity and penchant for technology. I have a very diverse toolbox, consisting of an adept knowledge of how to learn via the
internet, a peer network willing to share information and knowledge with me, an inner drive to keep learning new skills and lessons, and a desire to contribute keep me looking for ways to expand my knowledge. I'm always wanting to know the "
why's", the "how's", and the "what
then's".... I think maybe that's why I've got such an interest in things like weather and gardening. They are cyclical things that provide me with the cause and effect situations that I enjoy learning about.
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On the subject of play.... I can't tell you how vital this is to the learning experience and developing one's drive to want to learn. Play develops your curiosity, your deductive, and your reactive skills, and integrates fun into learning. Some of the best learning experiences I've had have been while sharing the company of my 6 year old neighbor and her two year old sister. I can play with them, laugh with them, teach them and learn from them all at the same time. A few of my favorite ways to play without the aid of my little friends is to use my computer, along with the
internet, or even my digital camera to develop new lessons for myself. I enjoy sitting down with a goal in mind of a certain subject, task or what-have-you that I wish to know more about, and I set out to digest what I can in order to become more acquainted with the subject at hand.
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If you wish to learn more about the 7 1/2 lifelong learning habits, please visit this link:
http://plcmclearning.blogspot.com/2006/08/2-lifelong-learning-l2.html
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