I've been exploring educational ideas for our kids over the past few weeks and it has had the effect of making me analyze my past schooling and also rekindling my desire to learn. I am slow to follow up on so many opportunities I hear of but today I dug into one that made me feel like weeping (in a good way). MIT Open Courseware. There are at least a dozen courses that jump out at me that I'd love to follow up on and that is only one source.
One monkey I'd love to get off my back is to learn some good hard math. Or physics. Just to do it and make the brain grind it out. I gave up on math in grade 9 because I didn't like my teacher and I had never learned to study well anyway. In grade 8 I'd been in the "enriched math" stream. I grit my teeth in frustration even thinking about it now. I came away from high school thinking it was too hard for me and NOBODY disagreed, not out loud anyway. Certainly there were plenty of careers open to a bright girl without math. With just a bit of science I could reach as high as being a nurse, teacher or social worker! It's a whole world out there! Jobs like a physio, doctor or lawyer never even hit the radar although university in some capacity was an expectation.
There was one math teacher that got furious with me because he knew I could learn it and wasn't bothering. If only he'd taken that a step further and tried to encourage me rather than muttering negative comments under his breath. It has taken me almost until now to forgive myself for not seeing the bigger picture at the time - I took the same path that so many smart girls my age did because nothing more was expected or encouraged.
I think about going back to school once in a while because I love the process. I've examined inter-departmental degrees and other custom options. Seeing these courses online is exilerating though - I want to learn and if I don't have to go somewhere and pay someone to learn what they tell me to, why would I? I don't get the piece of paper that someone deems I should have...can I move beyond that now? I want to learn enough to apply things to the world around me. My challenge is that I learn theory quite easily and then stumble when it comes to the "doing" part.
I'm passionate about a lot of things, with the local economy as my focus for ideas that could eventually have a bigger impact. Eating, producing and preserving food here. Knowing where my food comes from. Building with materials that are non-toxic and relevant to this area. Smart house design to take advantage of the sun and local climate. Learning to retrofit the infastructure we already to be more functional isn't glamorous but is a great opportunity to make use of what exists, rather than tearing down and starting over. Most of us can't afford to build new on an acreage. Not that I can't dream. I want to figure out how to motivate other people to care as much as I do. I want to make better decisions more consistently.
That's a bit much to bite off at once, eh?
4 comments:
Hi Tannis,
I've often thought that it's a shame university students are expected to decide on a major so soon--or even at all. As a computer interpreter, I've worked through lots of fascinating classes: Anthropology, Design Theory (for Architecture) Business Admin., Power Engineering (boilers & heaters--all right, that wasn't exactly my idea of riveting), Linear Algebra (matrices are a nightmare to type!), etc. It's encouraging to see so many women enrolled in Calculus, Physics, & the like.
Anyway, with the continued emphasis on lifelong learning; with all the options cropping up online, as you point out; and with the anticipation that the needs of so-called millenial students are about to push the edges of traditional education in radical ways, those pieces of paper may not hold weight for much longer...so continue to pursue your identity as a neoRenaissance woman. (And if that involves some math, good for you!)
Thanks for the encouragement Julie, it's especially interesting coming from someone on the "inside".
Missed you at Christmas by the way, it was a really fun gathering!
This is a fascinating reflective process, Tan. I look back often at my grade 12 career counselling session and shake my head in frustration. And, I went to a private school! I said I wanted to work for a year and she said "That's a good way to learn how to be disciplined about work." I'd worked since I was 14, seriously.
About math, I read a recent statistic that lead me to believe that if more women were inspired to enroll and complete math and sciences, we would be more widely represented in what are still typified as male occupations, like you mentioned - lawyer, physio, doctor and the like. My feminist within screams at that idea. You mean, we're capable of doing more than basic health care and housekeeping?
I did math and science until I graduated, including Algebra 12 and Chemistry 12. I loved the fact that those were hard classes for me. I actually showed up for most of those classes! Why? Well, besides the fact that most of these classes had more boys than girls in them, I really liked the hard work.
I'm all for ongoing learning. I don't know if I'll ever stop going to university. It's been three years now - yes, slowly but surely - and I really enjoy the brain challenge. I realize too that learning is something I love and crave. Kudos to you for looking for more.
Hats off to you Esther for keeping up with your courses alongside full time work and/or raising the little one. I'll let you know what course I choose to tackle first!
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