You Are Not Too Old To Learn
Adult education entails the training and development of adult persons in specific subjects or vocations for a diversity of reasons. Adult education is different from the traditional education of young people due to the methods that are used to take advantage of the accumulated knowledge and experience of the adult person. Because of these and other factors, adults can use what they already know to deepen their educational experience and have a better understanding of how to apply it to their present life situations.
Though often done in the workplace as training and development, or in a classroom situation as continuing or basic education, it is becoming more common these days to see enrolment in adult education programmes. This method of training is a valid and convenient way for people to improve their job skills, complete their education, and keep tabs on advances in different vocational fields.
Often, employed adults register for adult education courses to strengthen knowledge in their career field, acquire new skills for a promotion or a new job, or to fulfil requirements by employers or professional bodies. Online education programmes allow adults to remain in full employment while fulfilling their professional requirements or learning new skills for career opportunities. This method of continuing education is particularly helpful for people with family commitments in addition to job obligations.
There are other reasons why adult individuals might want to take advantage of online education programmes. For instance, an individual might find that dropping out of school was not the best decision and has had difficulties keeping steady employment. In this case, they can enrol in an online or distance learning programme, which will help them to fulfil their requirements.
For individuals that work in professions that require certifications or licenses to remain employed in that field, online education programmes are valuable from a time and convenience perspective. This form of continuing education is often required by either the law or by an individual’s employer to develop and maintain skills that are relevant to the profession. This type of training also helps individuals to remain up-to-date on advances or improvements within their field of endeavour. Such types of certification and training include computer programming, management training, equipment and procedural training for laboratory scientists and other medical professions.
Higher-level professionals such as insurance professionals, bankers, accountants, pharmacists, educators, physicians, and nurses are also often required to take part in some type of continuing professional development programme. This guarantees that a certain level of competence is achieved and maintained and that a professional’s knowledge is always tested in each field of practice. Having the opportunity to complete this training, whether online or offline, is very helpful to professionals with busy work and family schedules because they can take advantage of the flexibility of the approach.
Adult education gives individuals the opportunity for self-improvement and career advancement. Whether you are seeking to earn a degree for more lucrative job opportunities, or you are required to renew a professional license or gain additional training for your job, adult education is a powerful tool you can use without sacrificing your current way of life.
You Are Not Too Old To Learn
As an adult, have you been thinking about going back to school to continue your education to earn your first degree? Or perhaps you would like to earn a new degree in a different field of study. You may have been dreaming about this but do not believe that your dream can come true because you think you are too old. You are not. And it is as simple as that. You are not too old, because there are many non-traditional students on higher institution campuses today (and likely some of them are older than you are). Your life experiences give you many advantages over traditional students, and with the growing non-traditional population, many higher institutions now have programmes specially tailored for non-traditional students.
There are students in their late 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, and even older. Some students have retired from one career and are looking to move into another. There are students whose children (or grandchildren) had left the nest so they are looking to enter a new stage in their life. There are also many students balancing school with work and family. Some students are in the traditional school age but are in non-traditional circumstances; including children and family, work as well as sports and other activities.
In many ways, your age and your life experiences will be a great asset for your return to learning. Non-traditional students understand how to manage their time and prioritize tasks than traditional students. Besides, non-traditional students are often more motivated and goal-oriented than their traditional counterparts. Your life experiences also give you a great deal of knowledge and experience to fall back on or pull from when it comes to understanding, applying, or adopting the new knowledge you gain. On many occasions, non-traditional students outperform traditional students, but it ultimately comes down to a maturity of thinking and reasoning that can only come with age.
Today, higher institutions recognize they have a dynamic student population and offer classes in a variety of formats including on-campus, off-campus, distance learning, and internet. In the final analysis, it comes down to your instinctive feeling. Do you want that degree? Are you ready to change your life? You can do it. Don’t use your age as an excuse not to pursue your dream.
Adult Education is Good for You
Adult education is very practical. As an adult, you have advantages over children.
Better memory
Before, doctors thought that adults could not grow new brain cells, so as old cells died you became more stupid. That was then. Now, doctors know and agree that the more adults continue learning, the more new brain cells they get. You can even delay Alzheimer’s disease by keeping your brain active.
Life Experience
You learn from the known to the unknown. So, it is logical that the more experience you have, the more you can think. As you get older, continuing education keeps getting easier because there are always relevant things in your experience.
Distractions
You may have distractions at work. But are those distractions as compulsive as your teenage interests? You won’t have to choose between going out on a date and doing some study. You might have to choose between having a nap and your study.
Why Adult Education?
Why should you bother yourself with adult continuing education?
- Prevents brain deterioration. We have already talked about the effect of study on the brain. You get new brain cells.
- Retraining for a new job. In our today’s world, you can only expect to keep one job for a short time. You need to retrain for your next job.
- Self-employment. You cannot be sacked if you are self-employed, but you can go broke. It is better to develop your home-based business part-time until it is earning you twice as much as your job. Then, if you are sacked from your job, you won’t care.