My son is closing in on completing his formal, school-centric education after 25 consecutive years in the classroom and/or research lab. I anticipate that from now on his lifetime learning trajectory will be fueled primarily through less formal means during his workforce years and beyond (not that the informal learning was lacking during these past 25 years).
Did any of us start our workforce years actively anticipating that we were going to become experts in one or more fields? I did not. Were I to spend even one hour thinking through the possibilities of expertise-development anytime during that 40+ year period….
OK, now I find myself with perhaps 25 more years of learning in front of me (with a whole lot more free time available). What are some of the ways I might using that time to develop areas of expertise, and who might benefit from those efforts?
To get this post kicked off, I started to compare informal learning opportunities 40 years ago to now, with the growing options through internet sources. But the fact is there were dozens of ways to learn informally even 40 years ago- too many to list (A challenge to you: if you’re old enough, see how many pre-internet informal learning methods you can come up with in 5 minutes. I came up with 19.). The internet gives us a few hundred more ways to continue the learning process- for example, look at the doors open via Youtube or Reddit. Now look just 10 years into the future and imagine how Artificial Intelligence might be changing options for learning throughout a lifetime.
I’m going to estimate that even in retirement, I learn 10-15 new things per day. Just today I learned new things about Israeli Defense Force operations near Rafah, the Bible, plants I’ve been considering for the yard, my sprinkler system, cost of rental cars at the Providence, RI airport, and U.S. Navy operations around the world- and I’m not halfway through the day. Some of that comes from daily reading while other learning comes from just getting things done. When doing full-time work those numbers probably go up to at least 20-25 new things per day.
From Wikipedia: Lifelong learning is a form of self-initiated education that is focused on personal development. While there is no standardized definition of lifelong learning, it has generally been taken to refer to the learning that occurs outside of a formal educational institute, such as a school, university or corporate training. Lifelong learning can be important for an individual’s competitiveness and employability, but also enhances social inclusion, active citizenship, and personal development.
From Valamis.com (an interesting learning platform for businesses): Whether pursuing personal interests and passions or chasing professional ambitions, lifelong learning can help us achieve personal fulfillment and satisfaction. It recognizes that humans have a natural drive to explore, learn and grow and encourages us to improve our own quality of life and sense of self-worth by paying attention to ideas and goals that inspire us.
The reality is that most of us have goals or interests outside of our formal schooling and jobs. We have a natural curiosity and we are natural learners. We develop and grow thanks to our ability to learn.
Lifelong learning recognizes that not all of learning comes from a classroom, and it’s likely to be:
- Voluntary
- Self-motivated/self-initiated
- Not always requiring a cost
- Often informal
- Self-taught or instruction that is sought
- Motivated out of personal interest or personal development
The Pew Research Center on Lifelong Learning lists various related benefits (and you can probably come up with a few more):
- Renewed self-motivation
- Recognition of personal interests and goals
- Improvement in other personal and professional skills
- Improved self-confidence
Hundreds of schools have lifelong learning links offering various continued education options. Reddit has a Lifelong Learning Community, and as you might have suspected, Youtube has a Lifelong Learner channel.
Want to try a quick taste of instant learning? Try these:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8482992/
Or check out Amazon.com and search for Lifelong Learning books where you’ll find dozens of resources on the subject.
Hearing about others growing expertise in their retirement years inspires me. My friend Brian has spent years studying, participating in, and writing about the history of U.S. railroads
Just doing a bit of research for this post taught me about 15 new things. I think it’s time for me to go back to thoughts earlier in this post to ponder what I can do with up to 25 years of lifelong learning in front of me, and more important, who might benefit from that effort.