Age is Not a Barrier

Where do I begin with learning? Learning is something that as a child I found difficult; I always tried but nothing really stuck, and I found myself working twice has hard as my peers just to keep up. The one thing I knew I could do was play sport. I found I could watch someone demonstrate an activity and I would be able to pick it up straight away. If only this was replicated in reading texts or Maths? 

Most of my learning has been completed in my adult life, I've had to adapt and train in a variety of different professions. I had to fully immerse myself in learning to grasp any understanding, and I feel that as an adult, just as with children, you need to have a hook or a ‘buy in’ to the topic or subject to fully understand the concept. 

In my current role as Safeguarding/Wellbeing Lead in Primary Education, I love nothing more than researching the latest strategies; how to deal with behaviour or a child struggling with anxiety. I come away buzzing with ideas on how I can implement something in school to support the children and adults in my team.  My Headteacher is used to me sending him links and coming into school with all these crazy ideas! A key part of my learning as an adult has not just been to research information but to learn from people and their experiences. I have learnt so much from the different colleagues I have worked with over the years, good and bad - this includes children! 

I find listening to inspirational people delivering training sessions, who are knowledgeable and passionate about their subject, far more beneficial to me as a learner than spending hours with my head in a book researching. This is just how my brain works. I suppose it is getting the balance between the both. I love to watch a Ted Talk and get pumped about a topic, which then inspires me to go away and find out more about that topic.  

Studies show that many people who hated school, and even those who struggled, often get a greater satisfaction in learning as an adult. There is no limit to age and learning. 

I do not like the word expert! There is always something that can be learnt and improved upon in my eyes. Continuously moving forward is key; regardless of how experienced you are in your field, there are always more opportunities to learn.  Things are always changing, therefore you have to make sure you keep an open mind; allow yourself to learn and keep moving forward. 

 I have found a great way to do this is to take a moment to watch your peers around you. This could be popping into a class and watching them teach or seeing how they deal with behaviour issues. Seeing and understanding how a peer has dealt with a difficult conversation or situation and thinking; I really like the way they have dealt with that, gives you the opportunity to find a way to use it in your own practise.  Recently, I have started going into support other schools and always look at not only helping them but learning something from them. This has been an invaluable part of my own development as you will never know everything! Someone out there will always know more than you. This is not a weakness, embrace it. You can learn so much sometimes, even when you do not even realise you are doing so.  

My motto is - approach each day with the aim of learning something new.

Did you enjoy reading Scott's story of learning? Learn from Headteacher, Graham about practicing what you preach; learning!