Monthly Archives: August 2013

If you haven’t ever heard a TED talk, you are missing out and it’s time to join in the fun. As an adult learner, this is a location where you can learn about almost any subject from a dynamic, highly qualified speaker.

TED (http://www.ted.com/pages/about) is a nonprofit that started in 1984 and that is devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. They are called TED because they started out by bringing together people from three specific areas – Technology, Entertainment and Design. They have two annual conferences that are called the TED Conference and TEDGlobal and they have award-winning Ted Talks video locations a TED Fellows program and more.

The idea is that each person who gives a TED talk is given 18 minutes or less and is challenged to give “the talk of their lives.” These talks enhance the learner’s understanding of a subject matter and are also incredibly inspiring. Many of the TED talks can be found on itunes (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tedtalks-education/id470623037?mt=2) and can be heard and enjoyed completely for free.

Among other things, one of the beauties of the TED talks is that they are short. Pull up some folding tables and listen for a few minutes on school chairs. You can commit to listening to one TED talk a day as an adult learner and to enhancing your understanding of all sorts of topics in this brief amount of time. TED is definitely worth a visit.

Even if one did not manage to complete high school – for whatever reason – adult learning classes are becoming increasingly accessible.  No matter how “old” one is, they are never too old to get an education.  From practical, vocational studies to the more academic ones, institutions around the world are offering adult learning opportunities, irrespective of age, skill, background, etc.

Often such programs take place in what is known as an “extension” school or a “school of continuing education.”  One advantage adult students have over their childhood counterparts is their life experience.  Bringing this into the classroom gives the environment a whole added dimension. Plus, given that – at least in most cases – adults are choosing to be educated (rather than being forced as is the case with children), they are often more open to sucking up knowledge from the classroom.  Or, they are extremely excited to be able to pick up a new skill in the classroom that can help them in the workforce.

At the end of the day, one can never be too old to learn.  Indeed, according to The Daily Mail in July of 2008, war veteran Colonel Michael Cobb, of Plymtree, Devon, was said to have been the oldest person (to date) to get a PhD by creating an atlas which records and maps the railway stations built in Britain between 1807 and 1994.