A strategy for year-long learning

A strategy for year-long learning

By Shane Lukas, AVN Managing Director

Did you have that back to school feeling last week? (Sorry if you’re reading this in Scotland – you did this ages ago!).

However long ago you left school, at the beginning of September I bet you still remember how it felt … that sense of anticipation … feeling a bit nervous about a new class or a new teacher … new school shoes tight and stiff … uncomfortable in your uniform after wearing what you want all summer.

But also, ready to move on and learn.

Because however much you looked forward to the summer holidays, by the end you were bored to tears. Longing for some routine. Desperate for something to do.

While I can’t say that I enjoyed every minute of being at school and I moaned about it as much as anyone else, that feeling of having to grow up and move on every September was important.

And it’s something that it’s easy to lose sight of as an adult.

Why do we stop learning?

Without school terms as markers, we don’t have a specific time in the year to learn new things. Most of us probably make a new year resolution in January that we’ll sign up for that course or read that book – and some of us will actually do it! But only 31% according to a YouGov study.

(If you have school age kids, you’re probably still in that term/holiday/term/ holiday schedule, but I expect you only think about it applying to your kids).

The year passes and you’re busy with the day-to-day and before you know it, you’re heading towards January again. So you don’t move on and you don’t step up your learning. Which of course, means that your businesses doesn’t move on either.

What I want to suggest is that we look at each year as if we’re still at school. So every year we learn something new or we build on what we learned last year. That way we keep growing and our businesses keep growing too.

Autumn is a good time to start, because it’s built into to us as kids that that’s when the new school year begins. New shoes optional of course.

What do you think?

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