Darrel L. Hammon, Ph.D.
Continuing education and lifelong learning foster the “building, challenging, strengthening, and enlarging” of oneself to do things never done before, accomplish goals and tasks set previously but never fulfilled, prove that you can do something despite the challenges strewn along the way, rise to a challenge that seemed way too hard at first, change the way you look at the world, commit to the philosophy of lifelong learning, and widen your vision so that you can see afar off.
The vision of continuing education and lifelong learning focuses on the 78-year-old GED graduate some years ago who said, “I am getting my GED because I know I will be a good example to my grandchildren.” Donned in a traditional cap and gown, she received a standing ovation as she walked across the stage and waved to her family before she took her place among her fellow graduates.
The vision of continuing education and lifelong learning highlights the 30 or so more mature adults who all trundled to Lewiston, Idaho, and Lewis-Clark State College to participate in one of the many available Elderhostel activities. These adults, many of them 60 and over, came from across the country and participated in a week-long course that introduced them to Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Discovery. Their education might have ended several decades ago, but their learning never stopped. Instead, they sought opportunities because, as one of them commented, “I love to learn.”
The vision of continuing education and lifelong learning touches on the woman who, after her experience with BYU’s Bachelor of General Studies program, said “[it] opened doors and gave me confidence…. in what I can accomplish at this later stage of my life….given me new skills to work with. And it has reminded me that life is a continual learning process.”
The vision of continuing education and lifelong learning finds many people going from their day jobs to a class at their local college or university to enhance their skills or take a class in coding, leadership, nursing, property management, web design, creative writing, and a plethora of other educational programs that propel them toward their education and life goals of learning something different so they can become someone different. They will succeed and then continue forward, improving themselves at every level.
The vision of continuing education and lifelong learning expounds Jaime Escalante’s phrase, “Free, free, free, knowledge; bring your own containers.” Continuing education is all about that phrase. Knowledge oozes out of every corner and crack of life. Often it just seeps by us or hangs from luscious baskets within our reach, but sometimes we do not take advantage of the proliferation of knowledge around us. Or we fail to pack around our own containers, our buckets. Or worse, just the bottoms of our buckets are covered, and we say, “I’ve got all the knowledge I want.”
The vision of continuing education and lifelong learning connects people with educational opportunities, develops programs to meet the demands of the swirling marketplace, and prepares students to live and work in a global society, no matter how old they are, where they live, or what modality they are utilizing. The vision is to help people learn what they want and need to learn and then develop programming to meet their educational needs. Isn’t that the essence of developing the whole person and how they can leave their imprint upon the world, their workplace, their families, and themselves?
The vision of continuing education and lifelong learning is about access—to distance and online learning; to youth and summer camps, independent studies, study abroad programs; to language programs such as Spanish, Portuguese, and Chinese; to evening and off-campus programming at various locations; and to a cadre of incredibly focused programs and courses for youth and adult learners.
Continuing education and lifelong learning advocates—yes, even educational entrepreneurs—are asking the right questions: Is what we are providing meeting the needs and desires of our constituents, students, educational markets, and even beyond? What does the growing community want and need? And finally, what more should we be doing to extend our college or university experience beyond the boundaries of the physical campus?
In essence, learning through continuing education and lifelong learning are inextricably linked to investment, an investment in ourselves and our families that yields high benefits and interest, maybe not today or tomorrow, but it will yield—intellectually, spiritually, and mentally. We may have to bend our backs, stretch our minds, work amidst wind and snowstorms and tauntings of others, and maybe even make a few sacrifices. But that’s the vision of continuing education and lifelong learning: providing opportunities to learn and gain experience, helping others become better people, enlightening their minds, and establishing a true house of learning because, in the end, it’s all worth it.
Thus, invest now and often and keep your educational and learning bank account growing and your buckets filling up.
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