Happy Saturday Everyone!

It's a beautiful day at The Living Pen.  The sun is shining, there is a nice breeze and the sky is clear.  I hope where you are the day is as beautiful or turns out to be a beautiful day for you.   I've taken my laptop and I have climbed out a window and have perched myself on a flat portion of a roof overlooking some of the gardens.  The view is one of my favorites.  I have a tall glass of homemade ice tea and I am looking forward to spending time with you.  So grab your favorite beverage and settle in for a little read.  

I gave Brenda a ring and she was as enthusiastic as ever. This is a topic near and dear to her heart amd this is how it went.

Blu:
Good Evening Ms Brenda, how are you?

Brenda:
I’m doing well and keeping busy.
I attended several technology workshops on a college learning management system, in preparation to teach in the fall. And, I had a great Depth Writing session last Saturday with Susan Wells. My sister joined me and we enjoyed taking the time to sit, reflect and write.

Blu:
Now you're talking my lingo!
Depth Writing, giving emotions a voice, the virtual show and tell in any story, speech or narrative!!!  It’s how you bring a story to life.  It’s bringing the five senses to the reader, the listener or the audience so they can experience the story.  Oh yes Brenda, it is how we hear the heartbeat of a story.  Tell me you had fun, you had fun, right?

Brenda:
Yes Blu, I had a car load of fun! (lol)
It was a very enlightening and productive session. And I assume you are about to lead me into another enlightening discussion?

Blu:
Well I have one of those weird questions for you.  Are you ready?

Brenda:
My engine has started!

Blu:
Is it ever too late to get behind the wheel of that car called ‘Learn’?

Brenda: Nope!
We can always learn or re-learn something if we choose to.  Besides, learning is a great way to keep our brain sharp and engaged, which is critical for our health and quality of life. There’s a bevy of research on the neurological advantage of keeping the brain active.
Many activities are miniscule but can have a great effect. An easy one to try is to simply take a different route to a common location, like your grocery store, favorite coffee shop or to work. The idea is to keep the brain guessing by changing activities and causing new dendrites to grow.  So, learning something new or picking up an activity you’ve done in the past is a great way to do that.
Even at the end stages of my mother’s and her sister’s Alzheimer’s, if I started singing an old church hymn they would join right in, even though they couldn’t remember who I was at times. What they had learned was still there and gave them joy.

Blu:
I actually had the pleasure of making the acquaintance of Dr. Adetokunbo A. Oyelese, MD, PhD who I believe is living and practicing in New England now so I am familiar with the term, dendrites. 
If I remember correctly dendrites are like special branches or tendrils of a cell that collect information and share it with other cells in the body that need that information am I right?

Brenda:
You are correct, and they are part of the process that creates new connections in our brain.

Blu:
So learning is important, like exercise for the brain but taking a class can be intimidating.  I mean, what about my age Brenda; wouldn’t I look ridiculous going back?  I mean, can learning something new really make a difference in my life?

Brenda:
Fortunately, no, you would not look ridiculous!  In short, yes learning can make a difference.
You’ve heard the mantra ‘We are always learning’, but I wonder if the question of it making a difference is more about what we do with our learning.
It’s not uncommon to sometimes just ‘chill’, relax and smell the roses. For those who are inquisitive, new learning is exciting.
New learning for the rest of us usually needs to address a purpose in our lives. And this shifts with the stage of life we are in, right? Throughout young adulthood and middle age, the need to learn is forever in front of us. It’s how to get and keep a job; it’s how to grow in that career. We also learn how to develop and grow relationships, how to decide which ones to keep, etc, and eventually, we are trying to learn how to live our best lives for the rest of our life.
Based on medical studies we know that learning new things, especially for the more senior population, can be important to age related brain functions.

Blu:
So learning isn’t just for obtaining a career or acquiring a better career? 

Brenda:
I don’t believe so, but it depends on who you ask, since learning can happen anywhere for multiple reasons.
I could be someone who feels that life provides all the learning I need, and the experiences and people I meet are all part of the universal lessons waiting for me. Or I could be very intentional about who I meet and where I go for these learning experiences. For example, do I place myself where I can network? Perhaps I attend an outdoor jazz concert and engage with those sitting around me. Or expose myself to different cultures or join a like minded interest group for stimulating discussions.
Our choices could be attached to a career but it doesn’t have to be.

Blu:
What benefits are there to taking classes in subjects of interest, like doing it as a hobby?

Brenda:
There are crazy benefits! 
In general: socialization, health improvement, brain training, family growth, volunteer opportunities, and increasing self-awareness. Shall I go on : ) We touched on this earlier, when a hobby becomes something more than a hobby, the learning expands. For some a hobby can become a personal mission to help others, such as an entrepreneur adventure.  So we could consider Aristotle who said,
“the unexamined life is not worth living”.
Or as some have interpreted the Greek words as “the unexamined life is not to be lived”.
Tough words indeed, implying something we should all engage in. Hobbies included.

Blu:
If I do want to take a class in something I’m curious about, what should my focus be?

Brenda:
This is very individual, and can depend on whether you have previous exposure to this interest.
If it is a one shot type of class then it might be good to know how much previous knowledge is expected. For example, if I took a painting class, but have no idea of how to work with colors, it might be difficult for me to adequately apply all the terms used in class (without extra study).
If you use a computer at work, and now want to learn excel, your motivation may be enough to get you through 3 mini courses.
If your interest is sign language, know that taking one class is only an introduction. So, there are lots of answers to how to choose a focus. My perspective would be to challenge yourself, have fun and enjoy the journey. 

Blu:
Brenda if I took some time off after High School and now I know what career field I would like to be in but I also know I can’t afford it, are there ways that I can start.

Brenda:
Yes, first apply for financial aid (FAFSA IN THE U.S.) and start slowly to get used to the changes in your lifestyle that returning to college will create.
Often, there are free or low cost classes in your community. The library would be a good place to start looking for that information.
Also, in the past 20 years or so there has been amazing growth of open education resources (OER). Several well known institutions of higher education and educational agencies have created free courses for the general public. There are no degrees or certificate programs attached, but one could consider being able to demonstrate mastery in a subject area enough for some purposes, like getting a head start for a major employment conversation or the tough classes in your academic goal.

Blu:
What if I never did well before?

Brenda:
That is a real question for many people. This circles back to getting to know oneself, one’s learning style, and recognizing the educational limits an individual may have experienced. I’ve mentioned seeking out academic support on campus, in programs and offices. But often a more structured support is needed to get a secure running start in college. Let’s talk more about those resources next week.

Blu:
Brenda, I’m really beginning to see and understand the re-occurring theme in our conversations.  It’s time to change the way we think!  We need to change the way we think about learning.  I’m looking forward to discussing resources next week.  Have a great week Brenda.

Brenda:
You too Blu, sounds like a road trip is coming up!

 

So that was our chat this week.  How about you folks?  Have any of you gone back to the learning arena?  Are any of you thinking about returning?  Did you past experiences influence you one way or another?  I would love to hear from you.  Tell us a bit about what your learning experience has been or how you feel about learning, whether it is something new, or a continuation.  Until next week, I bid you all health and happiness.

                                                                                                    Blu