As you know if you have read my “About” page, I am new to the androgogy scene. For as long as I can remember, I have been driven to learn, discover and facilitate learning in others and yet, I experience fear around formalized education. For reasons I’ll explore in the weeks and months to come in this blog, I have a significant level of anxiety around post-secondary learning.
Imagine yourself getting ready to go on a trip. You’re excited about the impending journey and you have everything you need to make it a fun adventure. You turn the key in the ignition, pop the car into drive and start forward, only to discover that your car is plugged into the wall and as soon as you got more than a few feet, out pops the cord and power to the car is gone. All. systems.off. That’s how it feels when I try to learn something new that is beyond my existing level of comfort or expertise. There is nothing wrong with the vehicle or the engine, but the kill switch (anxiety) is a real bitch and makes adding new tools to my repertoire difficult.
Starting the Provincial Instructor Diploma at Vancouver Community College is one of the most daunting tasks I have undertaken in the arena of education. My goals in taking this program are to:
- Gain understanding of the fears that I have to climb around every time I want to do something new and move beyond them.
- Help those I encounter in my facilitation and teaching roles to climb above what holds them back (whatever it is) and to develop a love of all kinds of learning.
Welcome to the blog!
Jen Reid
The Reid's Read 