Refreshing Our Knowledge and Skills
We tend to think of school as something we partake in during the early years of our lives. There is preschool, nursery school, kindergarten, primary school, junior high school, high school, college and graduate school. If we went to these schools in linear fashion, we would be attending them from, perhaps, three years old until our mid or late 20s.
However, in today’s day and age, with so much changing so quickly, particularly in the area of technology, we might want to consider school as not only a foundational undertaking, which we participate in at an early age, but as a lifelong endeavor.
That said, we might consider going back to school at various intervals during our lives, to learn new things and to relearn or refresh our learning as it pertains to particularly important subjects. In the work world, three areas that jump readily to mind are the study of a second or third language, computer programming and math.
To keep pace with change, we must ourselves be willing to change. If we are willing to change by adapting our knowledge base to the demands of the current employment marketplace, we are not likely to get left behind. If we do not refresh and improve our skills, we may well find ourselves displaced by people with greater expertise, in areas business finds of particular importance.
Besides our ability to stay competitive in the labor market, being lifelong learners and going back to school at intervals throughout our lives can serve to keep our brains youthful. Just like the muscles of our body need appropriate stimulus to keep them strong and resilient, our brains need exercise too. Taking courses, in any number of areas, can serve as needed mental exercise to keep ourselves sharp, throughout our lives.
*Authors note: You might see this column pop up online in a newspaper, under the name Both Sides. I am publishing this column here first at CYInterview.com. For a bunch of years, I have been writing newspaper columns. Since my columns have received a good response on CYInterview, I thought I would share it with you. Hope you enjoy.
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