"Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself."
John Dewey
Education is extremely important to me, now. When I was in my teens and early twenties, I didn't understand the importance of education. As soon as I graduated from high school, I went straight to work. At the age of twenty, I met Brenton who encouraged me to go to college. When I started my journey in higher education, I realized that I had not done my best in school and wasted a lot of years of my life. Unfortunately, I still didn't understand education completely, so I wasted many years in and out of college.
One thing that I learned about education is that it does not always occur in a college or university. Many times, students in college are not really receiving an education. They are simply getting through school, so they can get a diploma. After they take a class, the information is gone. There are other students who get to their graduation day and realize that they are not interested in pursuing a career in the field that they studied in school and want a different line of work.
Education can occur in a classroom, but most of the time education is learned outside the classroom. When I realized that I needed to pursue education, I started reading books and taking classes when I was not in a college classroom. This helped me realized what kind of degree and career I wanted, and showed me the purpose of my life. In my case, the purpose for my life is teaching personal development. This revelation showed me that I needed to take human behavior, psychology, counseling, and communication classes. It also helped to take writing and public speaking classes, because my passion is to teach others personal development through speaking and writing.
My question as an undergraduate was, "What do I need to do to educate myself?" There are several steps that I took to pursue my education. These steps are to discover my purpose in education, decide what steps I need to take to get an education, research my purpose and become an expert, take classes from a community college or seminar, work on my college skills, and never quit. Once I had these steps down, I was able to focus and complete each step of my education.
"Education is the key to unlock the golden door of freedom."
George Washington Carver
Discover my purpose in education.
"Develop a passion for learning. If you do, you will never cease to grow."
Anthony J. D'Angelo
When I started college, I chose music as my major. As I completed my first two years of college, I decided that music was not for me. It was not something I was passionate about. Instead, I decided to complete a business degree. It was perfect for me, because it consisted of human behavior and communication classes. These were apart of personal development, which was my passion.
When I went to a community college, I took classes in music. If I had taken a more wide variety of classes, I might have found my passion sooner. Of course, sometimes, it just takes time to find one's passion. If you are choosing a degree that you don't feel passionate about, continue to look until you find your passion.
Sometimes, education doesn't have anything to do with college. There are some people who become educated and create an extremely successful career. This means they use self-education and training to educate themselves. The point of education is to never stop growing and learning. Colleges are great educational tools, because they keep you accountable and give you a degree that can increase your income.
Decide what steps I need to take to get an education.
"Learning is not attained by chance, it must be sought for with ardor and diligence."
Abigail Adams
What steps you take depends on what purpose you decide to pursue. If you decide to obtain a college degree, then it is important to find the right college and enroll in classes. Some purposes don't require a degree, but it is still important you study the subject. There are purposes that need college degrees and certifications, and in other purposes you need a doctorate degree.
When you have found your purpose, write down all the steps you can think of that will help you in your pursuit. Once you have written down all the steps, it is important to ask an expert if you have written down all the steps. They can tell you what you are missing from your list.
For instances, if you want a career as an educator, it is vital that you get at least a bachelors degree and a certification. There may be other requirements for a specialized teacher, so this is where the list of steps comes in handy. As you complete each step, cross it off the list or put a check mark next to the completed step. This will help increase your confidence as you continue through your list.
Research my purpose and become an expert.
"Education isn't how much you have committed to memory, or even how much you know. It's being able to differentiate between what you know and what you don't know."
Anatole France
The most success and educated people have studied their subject until they are experts. This is important to anyone developing a successful career. For example, when someone decides they want to become a lawyer, they read and learn the laws and what it takes to have a career in law. It is better for a person to study and become an expert even before they take classes. There is a book written almost on every subject, so there is no excuse for lack of knowledge.
When I decided to pursue a career in personal development, I started reading every book on the subject. It was important for me to get all the information I could, so I could write blogs and teach others. Now I am getting my degree in human relations, which includes human behavior and communication classes. These classes are a part of personal development, and I use the information I receive from these classes to further my personal development career.
Take classes from a community college or seminars.
"Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere."
Chinese Proverb
It also might be beneficial to take classes from a community college or a seminar. When my husband, Brenton, wanted to pursue art, he went to a community college. He only paid $108.00 for a semester, and he learned about different aspects of art. Now, he uses that knowledge to create art and help our daughter with her art. There are also many community classes that are even cheaper than community college. Our older children, Snow and Danny, have participated in community classes, which were beneficial in keeping them entertained and educating them at the same time. One summer, Snow took a fashion designing class and Danny took a building class.
There are also different seminars or non-credited classes that are not as expensive as community college tuition. One time, I took a writing class that helped me to discover my passion for writing. It also showed me how to create essays, books, and business documents. This was a class I never will forget, because of the valuable information I received. It was online, so I never had to leave my home or my family.
Work on college skills.
"Get over the idea that only children should spend their time in study. Be a student so long as you have something to learn, and this will mean all of your life."
Henry L. Doherty
Writing Skills
It is important to know how to write. Most work in college is writing one paper after another. If you know how to write research papers, you can pass almost any class. This can be learned through books, college classes, community classes, or seminars. In the last twenty years, I have attended many writing seminars and classes. It has helped me to become a successful writer and college student.
Math Skills
Math skills are useful in everyday life. This is why it is important to continually perfect math skills. This is especially true if you decide to attend college. Math classes will be a necessity for undergraduate, and it is a necessity for some graduate classes. Although I am not a math genius, I do work on my math skills, so I can be successful in business math and personal finances.
Organizational Skills
There are some people that may moan when they read organization skills. It may not be something you are good at, but it is necessary to success in every area of life. This is a fact that I learned in college. When I was careless with my papers and didn't keep a notebook, I didn't do as well. Now, I always organize my graduate work, so I can be a successful student. Every year, I try to take an organizational class or read books that will help me organize my life.
Never quit!
My primary goal in life is to never give up. This is something I want to inspire others to do, too. If you give up, you will never reach your potential and never succeed in your life. For years, I wasted time giving up every time I could not do something perfect. Now, I know that even if something is not perfect I will succeed if I never give up.
My daughter, Snow, is a great example of a person who never gives up. When she starts to draw a picture, she sometimes messes up and has to throw the picture away. This does not mean she gives up. She literally sits and draws for hours trying to perfect her picture. There are some pictures that she works on for days or weeks (she does take breaks, though!), so she can get the picture just right. Rarely have I ever seen her abandon a picture idea altogether. She always gives each picture her all, and that is why her artwork is so amazing.
Our education should be the same as Snow's artwork. We need to constantly work on educating ourselves until we are experts. Once we are an expert in one area, we need to find another topic, so we can become an expert, again. This educational process is continuous, and it should never stop until we die. Of course, it is important to aim at living until you're a hundred, so you can learn almost everything.
Challenge:
This week's challenge is to become a lifelong self-educator. Do this by deciding what your purpose is and how to educate yourself in that purpose. After you have found your purpose and educated yourself, use your purpose to help others. The whole point of education is sharing it with others.
When I decided that I wanted to pursue personal development, I also wanted to teach others how to pursue personal development for themselves. In the last two years, I have started teaching classes, Bible studies, and writing blogs. At the moment, I am in the middle of writing a book and preparing for success seminars. Now, it is your turn to educate yourself and teach others.
"A human being is not attaining his full heights until he is educated."
Horace Mann