I had a great conversation with one of my Darlings. She reads my blog and had some very insightful suggestions after reading my post about Private or Public instruction. I respect her opinion. Particularly about this since she has experienced both private and public schooling. She has grown up to be a beautiful woman. Beautiful both inside and out. Both my Darlings are. They are like my sisters/friends/daughters. I am lucky to be their aunt.
Sometimes you will have an "uh-huh" moment with different people. You just have to open your mind and keep your prejudices, assumptions, and misconceptions out. Young. Old. Rich. Poor. Professional. Skilled Tradesman. They may not have experienced everything you have, but in the same breath, I'm sure you could say that you have not experienced everything they have. Just because they are younger than you, their opinions and feelings count. Don't be so foolish to dismiss their response so quickly. And if they are older than you, there is a reason they say respect your elders. They have lived longer than you and have seen more years of life than you have. Don't dismiss their opinions as "they just don't get it". They get it. A lot more than you know.
I try to keep this in mind as a technical instructor working with adult learners. Young or Old, they are there to improve their skills. Sure some of them don't even know how to write a simple query, right-click, or create a macro, but they bring other skills to the table. Sometimes it's an attitude. Like "I've been doing this job longer than you've been alive little girl". Gotta love those gigs.
When my little boy started off his talk with "when I was a kid..." I laughed so loud. I thought you were a kid, darling? Right. Right. I mean, when I was a baby... Even kids that young can teach you something. The innocence and unabashed honesty will keep you on your toes. Don't dismiss them either.
Because no matter how old you are, you never stop learning (if you're smart).
No comments:
Post a Comment