How To-52: "How to Return to Learning As an Adult"

How to Return to Learning As an Adult

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit

Going back to study is pretty scary. You might often wonder if you have made the right decision. Everything else seems to be more important and seems to take more of your time. Other people make you feel guilty but ...don't give up. No matter what your age, it is never too late to go back to school and pursue your dreams.

Steps

1. Remind yourself that you are doing this for you in the first place. But if it also means that soon you will have a career which is satisfying and is paying the bills and your children have a new found respect for you, cherish these bonuses.
   
2. If you are looking to find out what you really want to do and you are already past high school or college age, review the past few years of your life. How have you spent them and what made you happy or unhappy?
   
3. Consider the things you did that made you unhappy and choose a career that does not include them. For example, if doing bookkeeping at your last job stressed you out you probably should not pursue an accounting degree.
   
4. Consider the things you did that made you happy and that you felt you had control of. If you enjoyed maintaining the company website at your last job, you may also enjoy taking some online classes in graphic design and web design.
   
5. Go back to your old school days. What were your favorite subjects and hobbies? What did you want to be when you grew up? Does what you do now have anything to do with those subjects, hobbies and dreams?
   
6. Review your favorite job activities, hobbies and subjects to figure out what type of classes you would like to take. You don't have to decide "what you want to be when you grow up" right away.
   
7. Studying as an adult means you need to be organised. Set aside the time to do the homework - make yourself into a role model for the kids. Do homework together. Set up a study centre in your home or track everyone down to the local library for an afternoon of study.
   
8. Studying as an an adult means learning to cut corners but knowing which corners to cut. Not everything has to be done perfectly - you will give yourself ulcers. Do the best you can and learn from the feedback given to you by your teachers. Your home will survive the odd bit of dust. Teach family members how to vacuum, gain new cooking skills and become responsible for household cleanups.
   
9. Use every possible learning method to help you manage tests and find out which works best for you. Flashcards; audio tape information to be played while driving the car or cooking the dinner; coloured highlighters for key points; teach someone else; diagrams; lists and learn recall strategies.
   
10. But most of all believe in yourself. Yes, sometimes study can go awry but ask, ask and ask again for help from a range of people: your teacher, your peers, family, counsellors. Persistence is the key.
    
11. Celebrate like never before when you graduate!

Tips

• Set up an area at home or at work where you can do your studies quietly so you are ready for your classes.
  
• Find like minded study partners and share the load.
  
• Get involved with culture of the study institution - learn to feel at home
  
• Remember that 'No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.' Thank you Eleanor Roosevelt
  
• Let your friends, family and work associates know about your intention to pursue higher education so they can be understanding of your needs. Those family members who are scathing of your attempts to improve your education need attention but also need to understand that you won't stop studying.
  
• Let your friends, family and work associates know about your intention to pursue higher education so they can be understanding of your needs.
  
• Talk to people who are working in the areas of interest you are considering. Find out what it takes to get and keep a job. Discuss the best and worst parts of the job.
  
• Candidly discuss your strong and weak points with friends, family and business associates to gain a better perspective of yourself.

Warnings

• Sometimes, but only in very rare cases, quitting is the only option you can have when things go really badly. However, most times quitting is a cop out. For the rest of your life, you will always think, "what if I'd finished that study?...."
  
• Everyone is capable of learning; the question is only how long will it take and will you put forth enough effort to learn what your studying. Some people are born with a natural ability to read well and others are born with great math skills. It is just a simple matter of how your brain was hard wired from birth to process information. Don't take it personally if you're not great at both as most people are not. Overcoming pride will be your biggest problem most times. Try not to focus on the grade level of the content and just that idea of accomplishing the goals.

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Sources and Citations

• Eleanor Roosevelt [1]

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