Lesson #14: Keep Learning

This is the time of the year when I'm providing support to seniors and their parents in their college application process. In yet another training today I learned that "college is ordinary" now. Most kids seek out some form of post-secondary education. In an ever-competitive market for jobs, this still seems wise.

I was fortunate to have received a bachelor's degree in four years from a great university, and at that time I thought I was "done."

Nope.

Some years later I would re-enter graduate school for my teacher's credential. At that time I thought I was "done."

Nope.

To keep my credential I had to seek out hundreds of hours of post-credential courses. But by then I had found that learning was actually fun, and so I annually seek out all sorts of opportunities to grow, including writers' workshops and counselors' and teachers' trainings. In fact, even though I am one of the most senior teachers in my district, I know that I still have much to learn to improve my craft.

Scripture teaches us, "He who scorns instruction will pay for it" (Proverbs 13:13).

Soon I'll have a pile of senior project research papers to edit and grade. Each year it's like reading a volume of the encyclopedia. While the editing can get tedious, the content is always interesting . . . and I tell my students, "I am getting so smart reading your research papers!" I mean, how many of you know who invented basketball* or what culture is believed to have created the earliest guitar**?

Nope, I'm not done learning and growing, even though I now have grandchildren in school. In fact, I'd BETTER keep educating myself . . . so as to keep up with them!

What college course would you like to take?

* James Naismith

** The Hittites