Learning to learn... again.

I have spent most of my life learning. I am 36 years old and I have been involved in some manner of formal for 29 of those 36 years (that includes primary schooling, high school, and 5 University degrees). People often look upon my 'book learning' with a measure of astonishment. There is nothing to celebrate about it, in fact I have often thought that it was stupidity that kept me studying for so many years. By that I mean stupidity of two forms, stupidity in the form that I never thought I knew enough so I would keep reading, researching, and wanting to learn. But also stupidity of another kind, in the sense that if I had any sense I would have realised quite early on that while book learning has great value in some contexts the MOST valuable forms of learning take place through the experiences of 'ordinary life'.

A quick disclaimer, before I carry on, to those students who are busy with their degrees - please don't take my flippancy (which is, truthfully, somewhat tongue in cheek) as an excuse to stop your studies! There are many advantages to formal learning. It is both necessary and essential for the effective functioning of institutions and society.

However, the reality is, each time that I start some new chapter in my life, ministry, and work, I come to discover just how much I DON'T know! As I have been sitting in board meetings, conferences, strategic planning workshops, and meeting people along the way, I am challenged to
recognise that I need to learn a whole new 'skill set' to be effective and useful for the Lord where I am now.

I think this process of learning is a given. Most of us would agree that new surroundings and new work require new insights and skills.

However, what has surprised me is that I not only need to learn THINGS, I have also had to learn how to learn again! As one gets older one tends to settle into patterns. I have established some fairly concrete patterns for learning. I have recognised this time around that I not only need to learn, but also need to relearn how to learn!

For the past 5 years my learning has been largely academic - if I needed to understand something I would go away, get all the books, journals, and academic papers on that particular issue, do a literature survey of all that has been written (with my research question in mind), and then I would distil the information into some clear and structured document, tracing the major arguments and counter arguments (much like one draws up a list of pros and cons), trying to understand the merits and demerits of each. Finally, I would weigh up all that I had read,
thought about, and written and then come to some conclusion.

I am learning in a new way now. Most of what I learn doesn't come from books, it is not written in papers - rather it comes from relationships, from understanding what people have discovered and learned in their lives. I am enjoying it! For those who know me, I am quite a strong
extrovert, I never liked books more than people! Now, I am learning in a way that I love!

Comments

[Paddy]

I'm with you. Pastoral theology is the new black, and you don't get that from books. Much as I love to satisfy my need for knowledge, getting to know real people trumps that each time.