When young people fail their SATs or when someone doesn’t do well in A-levels, things are often clear and sometimes even pre-planned. So why don’t we care for adult learning the same way?
1. Our children’s teachers worked it out…
“Re-teach” is a word that most teachers are familiar with. So is “remedial work” or “resit”. Our young dudes are learning in an environment where their mistakes will be noticed, and (hopefully) someone will give them a chance to try stuff again.
Teachers in schools know what to do. They know what to look out for as signs that kids aren’t getting it. They know how to change their lesson plan if there is a need to teach stuff again. And if things go bad – a failed exam, a wasted opportunity – they are there to advise on how the rest of the child’s journey can play out.
Good stuff, in theory at least (I know many schools fail to be so good in practice, but the idea is there). Which leads me to an important question:
2. Why aren’t adult learners treated like this?
Alice messes up badly at work, and the whole project gets delayed by three months. Everyone shrugs and gets on with it. By the time she messes up the same thing again (three more months…), everyone is ready with a “typical Alice” comment.
Bob drops in and out of every Spanish class he can find. He signs up, lasts two or three months, then stops going. His partner sees this, and watches the course fees disappearing from their shared account, but does nothing.
Charlie learned all the code she could learn at the local library, and went through all the courses on offer. She is hungry for more, and wants to try another programming language. Her librarian looks at her and says, “I wish I could help…”
The assumption is there for adult learners that they will “sort themselves out.” We’re grown-ups, so we can deal with our own mishaps and dead ends.
But I think we could use help. I think when adults fail in learning – or when they’re not progressing as fast as they could – they also sometimes need someone to help them work things out.
3. Your own teacher, advisor, school assembly: when you fail at adult learning
There is no shame in reverting to what worked at school. School is an institution made for learning. Much of it is useless, but some of it is excellent. Nothing wrong with “borrowing” the more excellent parts.
Become your own teacher when you don’t get it. Learn to dig for your own mistakes, and look through things that only seem to be OK, and learn to check you’ve truly mastered what you’re dealing with.
Take on the duties of your own advisor if there’s nobody else around. Start asking yourself questions about where to go next. Write down your ideas and sit down to scrutinize them. Explore and discover ways of moving on.
Lastly, build more structure around what you’re trying to learn – if this works for you! Is there an exam you can take? Is there a project you can work on? Could you show off your skills in public? All this resembles a classroom, but this could just help you get motivated.
How would you overcome your lifelong learning failures?
(Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash)
Wiktor (Vic) Kostrzewski (MA, DELTA) is an author, translator, editor and project manage based in London. When he works, he thinks about languages, education, books, EdTech and teachers. When he doesn’t work, he probably trains for his next triathlon or drinks his next coffee.
BRAVE Learning (formerly known as 16 Kinds) is a lifelong learning and productivity blog. If you enjoy these posts, please check out one of my books and courses.
My recent publications, and my archive, is now all available on my new project: PUNK LEARNING. Hope to see you there!