Life Long Learning = A Lifetime of Opportunities

It might surprise you hearing an educator tell you that they hated most of their schooling life and the whole learning process. It wasn’t until I was around the age of 14 when I was allowed to take some control over my learning and the subjects I studied, that I started to fall in love with the process of learning by discovering the type of learner I am and the way that I like to learn. 

From my academic studies, it was quite clear, that the following methods are my preferred approaches when it comes to learning; reading, working practically i.e.: trial and error, watching/making observations and discussions/debates. This is why I thrived in my A levels and at university, simply because it provided me with the opportunity and means to access, discover and explore my preferred methods of learning. By being able to tap into my learning process I have been able to gain the skills and drive needed to continue my learning outside of the traditional schooling environment. 

As I was able to take control of my own learning, I was able to tap into my skills and interests and use these to help break down doors and have opportunities become available to me, which would have originally stayed closed. Although I had been trained as an educator, I had other skills that I wanted to utilise, at university I had realised that I was a creative person but not in a typical sense. Surprisingly, I had developed a knack for writing and my university lecturers had communicated that I had a very personable style.

This led me to continue writing outside of university and my career as a teacher, I continued to research and learn how to develop a platform in writing around my field of academic interest, which is early childhood education. By doing this I was able to gain the knowledge needed to push me beyond my own limits and carve out a basic writing career. Now I write for many different outlets and contributing to my field of academic interest, outside of the classroom environment. If I did not have a love for life-long learning, I would not have had the ability to explore my ever-growing career prospects outside of my chosen profession.

Exploring the notion of an ‘ever-growing career’ further, it is important to note that in order to be able to grow as an early years teacher and a writer, it is essential that I stay flexible when it comes to my practice. Rigidity can be the downfall of anyone in any kind of profession and this is something that was strongly highlighted during my teacher training. No-one’s practice is perfect and every year brings a new cohort with a whole new range of needs. I am not an expert in everything and if I pretend to be, then I risk not providing the best practice to my children. Continuous professional development is key to having a good career in teaching or in any field to be perfectly honest. There are a range of ways that you can continue to develop as a professional that does not mean having to pay for or attend a course, some of my preferred methods are reading literature and new research, observing other teachers and watching documentaries.   

Not only do I apply my learning skills to my professional development, I also apply it to my personal development. My belief is that at every difficult hurdle in life, there is an opportunity for me to learn and grow as a person. I had my own personal growing experience in the past year or so, I like many educators had succumbed to the workload and overall workplace negativity that encompasses the profession. It was my second year of teaching and my first year as an early years’ leader, in a short space of time I had slowly allowed the job to become bigger than myself. I was a living a very unbalanced life and I knew that in order to move forward and not become a statistic, I needed to research and understand how to get that balance back. By taking time to research and learn about my current situation I was able to tap into what made me tick as a person. I had learned that in order for me to love my job and be the best teacher I can be, I needed to make sure that I acknowledged my needs and give back to myself. By being open to learning, I was able to apply these skills and use them to learn about myself personally and professionally, thus improving my wellbeing.  

Life-long learning is not just something that we need to only apply to our professional lives, it is an essential part of being a human being and if we want grow and be the best that we can be, then we need to be willing to connect with and learn about ourselves. 

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