As I was going through the process of creating this blog, the title flashed into my head and I entered the words onto the keyboard. Learn As You Go. It makes perfect sense to me. After all, that is the way I pick most things up these days -- as I go. I'm sure I'm not alone. Our days are full trying to balance both work and family commitments and there are many demands on our time. It seems an enormous accomplishment to just go through the motions, let along actually LEARN something along the way. But the more I ponder on the subject, the more opportunity I find for learning.
In reading Brookfield's first chapter of The Skillful Teacher, I was somewhat astonished when he spoke about "muddling through" a situation. A distinguished professor from Teachers College, Columbia University, one of the authorities of Critical Thinking -- this guy admits that he actually "muddles through" things because he doesn't know all the answers! It was both enlightening and comforting to read this, since I find myself "muddling through" a good part of the time. At times I will muddle through successfully and at times I will make mistakes. Both scenarios provide a platform for learning. When tackling a new project at work that I am somewhat unsure of and I surprise myself by "pulling it off", I learn. When I make a mistake, whether in judgment or execution, I also learn.
This mindset -- this spirit of humility -- equips me with both a desire and acceptance of continuous learning. It is exciting to think that there is still so much out there yet to learn, whether in a book, the classroom, or muddling through, as I go.
Very eloquent Toni! Thank you for sharing. The greatest fear I have in my life is ever feeling like I've got it right, because when that happens I'll know my mind is closed and the learning has ended. Learning is what we do, it is how we get through our days with the complexity that will continue to fill our world. As technology changes as we change, mature, and grow, there are always new challenges and, as Brookfield has identified, there will always be more muddling if we are very clever human beings!
ReplyDeleteYou've done a nice job touching on how this knowledge keeps you alive in your life and always learning. It will be fun to see you continue to incorporate what you know about learning continuously in your practice!
Best,
Kiki
OMG! You took the words right out of my head. I felt the same way about Brookfield's muddling through comment. Often times, I feel like I am muddling through life. I think your term Learn As You Go is a brilliant way to describe how many people learn best. I used to tell my trainers after a class that I bluffed through that one. Then I would often find myself analyzing what actually happened and see if my bluff would actually hold up. Most of the time it does. There have been a few times when I would have to go back and correct a statement I made during a bluff but for the most part my bluffing usually gets me through.
ReplyDeleteI am new to blogging and I must say that I really enjoyed reading your blog. Maybe because most of what you have mentioned hits home for me too.
Thanks,
Kesha
At the risk of sounding like we are starting a support group, I must admit that I've muddled through training situations as well. ;) Even with diligent preparation, sessions can take unanticipated turns. Though stressful, it helps to be as resourceful as possible. Sometimes even, these mishaps can have happy endings. I was once forced to demonstrate an application's functionality in a different order than usual due to an firewall issue that would not allow certain screens to load. Instead of derailing the whole training, the particular audience grasped the mechanics quickly, and I realized that this order served as an excellent bridge to a more complex topic, so I adopted it for use in similar situations in the future.
ReplyDeleteI found it very interesting to read about Learn as you go as I was just thinking about the same thing yesterday. I wasn't really aware that we all learn all the time, whether we are researching things on the internet for daily life or work or organizing the day for our family, from school life to grocery shopping and much more.
ReplyDeleteI look forward to your next blog entry
Julia