Learning for Life

One of the joys of the holidays is having the kids home from college – my own, plus their friends from colleges all over the country who drop by and are good for lengthy philosophical discussions.

Over dinner last night we talked politics and the up-coming primary, and eventually morphed into the college learning experience from three different perspectives.

One daughter was thrilled that none of her classes have more than 12 students. She craves the small group environment and the individualized attention.

Another daughter talked about her joy of learning from classmates and others besides the professor.

A friend shared his experience learning in an auditorium setting with hundreds of other students.

We all agreed, however, that the initial college education, no matter how valuable is only the first step in a process of learning that will last our whole lives.

I shared my own frustration with people who refuse to support college education for youngsters who “don’t even know what they want to do when they finish.”

Coulda been talking about me. Not that I didn’t know what I wanted to do; just that what I’m doing now wasn’t even invented when I graduated from college.

The internet may have existed, but it certainly didn’t exist in my realm. Online learning wasn’t an option, let alone a method to teach people effectively using the power of computers and the internet.

Today, I have the distinct privilege of helping people get their continuing education credits online with our website for senior care administrators, EasyCEU.com. Over and over I hear from our learners that they had no idea online learning could be so interesting, engaging and effective. It’s not unusual for a course evaluation on EasyCEU to end with this comment,

“I learned more from this one online course than from several classroom courses I’ve taken on this subject over the years.”

Music to my ears!

This past year we embarked on a journey to create meaningful, effective learning opportunities for the most important member of the senior care team: the direct care worker. Our aQuire Training Solutions’ e-learning product is specifically designed for these important people.

The caregiver, CNA, housekeeper, food service worker, activity assistant, and all of those other individuals who are our hands, eyes, and hearts “on the floor.”

The ones who provide the daily compassionate attention for the most vulnerable seniors in this country – caring that makes the difference between a good community and the proverbial warehousing.

The ones who, with the right training, tools and support will be a workforce to be proud of. A workforce to make a difference that will affect your family and mine.

A tall order, indeed.

But one that my own drive for life-long learning has equipped me to tackle with a passion and an energy that makes each day at my job an exciting, interesting time.

Can’t wish anything more for my college children and their friends today!