Learning, Fighting the Empire and Into the Future

The Fifty Something Nobody Learning Journey

 

I have said this many times but curiosity is what, I think, makes us human. Here is another stunner – we remain human until we die unless we crush our curiosity – discuss.

 

OK, if you insist, I will. In many places around the world, societies revere the older people in their communities for their wise counsel. They are encouraged to keep being useful. They are respected members of their community. And yet, here in the UK (and I suspect in other Western Societies, in particular), after we start producing children, we are no longer valued other than as breeding stock i.e. the ‘hard working families’ we are always having thrown at us by politicians. Have you noticed that we can’t be ‘a hard working family’ if we have five older people that we are looking after rather than a bevy of children? Just a thought. Not that this is me, noooo. Anyhow, let’s get back to it. At this point, when we become breeding stock and not ‘The Future’, we are expected to stop being interested in learning. All we are expected to do at this point is to work, almost slavishly, to support the next generation to become great.

 

 

If you have ever felt yourself saying ‘well I am not important anymore, I have to do this for future generations’, ask yourself this, ‘when will this future generation benefit?’ They may be the future generation now which we are nurturing to live a good life until they suddenly become the also-rans over-night. They never have time to enjoy the fruits of all the energy put into them because they have gone from future generation to the parents of the future generation without ever being ‘THE Generation’. We never live in the present. How tragic is this?

 

 

I am sure I have probably lost you by now but please stay with me. This is for you. If you are no longer ‘The Future Generation’, and I think that is everyone that has just left their formal education and older, then you probably already feel like you are on the scrap heap. You are probably with the rest of us, just working, working, working for this mythical ‘future generation’. That is, of course, if you have time to even think or, even better, be curious.

 

 

 

 

 

I know all about ‘beating’ the desire to be interested and curious in learning out of people. I was trained as a Physical Education Teacher in the Eighties. It was my job to teach girls to be physically fit and healthy so they could work hard and produce, yes you have it ‘the future generation’. I can tell you, it was a tough gig then. It probably still is now, because formal education is still designed on the Victorian principle. It’s primary purpose is to prepare you for your masters who will then, in turn, work you to death, or at best turn you into a blubbering mess by the time you ‘retire’ from the ‘Mills of Industry’. I know that most of you won’t actually work in a mill or, indeed a coal mine, which is what most of my family and neighbours did when I was ‘the future generation’, but please insert whatever your particular mill is – perhaps a hospital, a call centre or a very large warehouse selling goods back to you so you need to keep working in it.

 

 

 

 

So back to the learning thing. I must have missed the lecture whilst I was at University, about not questioning the management of the Death Star because I, fairly early on in my ‘career’ headed away from insisting girls ran across muddy fields in the least amount of clothing possible without having a ‘fag’ part way around their ‘healthy’ country run. Even before I succumbed to the formal indoctrination of teacher training, I knew something wasn’t right. I knew I didn’t want to be a ‘drone’ in the system but my very well-meaning parents (Mum mainly) were too scared of Darth Vader (Mrs Thatcher was the incumbent behind the scary mask at the time) and made me head into the system that knocks all imagination and curiosity out of you in order to serve The Empire.

 

 

 

 

 

I had only really just started shaping the new drones when I had minor rebellion and escaped encouraging our little darlings to play sport into the world of educating sports coaches and sport volunteers. As we have established, I was already a bit mutinous but now I had seemingly joined the Resistance as my new leader (who is still out there banging the drum at the age of  nearly 75 as The Director of Women’s Football for the Football Association in England) didn’t approach things in a traditional way. It allowed me to develop my learning and teaching philosophy and I am still there, developing, if I am honest. Now though, I am more like the aging Princess Leia or Luke Skywalker who just pops in for the odd cameo every so often.

 

 

But…. I have decided that I don’t want to be in cameo anymore, I am going to lead us out of hiding and into battle. Perhaps not with the sports coaches, tutors, assessors etc so much, but to inspire those of you are older (over twenty) to not give up on learning. I want to bring you to the ‘Joy of Learning’. You may not have had this since you were five years old, playing with your friends, having an adventure in the woods. I want to help you bring the joy of being curious back. It will, I promise, bring your life force back. And don’t let yourself or anyone else tell you that you are too old to learn or do new things. Not learning new things will almost definitely make your latter years much worse than they need to be and could even encourage dementia to be on your path.

 

 

Right, enough of my ramblings for now. I have work to do in terms of fighting The Empire, oh and the remnants of a major leak in my Aunt’s kitchen, but I will be back soon to lead you to freedom.