I am working towards my M.Ed. in Adult Education, and the class I’m taking is entitled Historical and Social Issues in Adult Education (ADTED 510 here at PSU). I enjoy being in the Adult Education program; its focus on critical reflection grounded in practice is an ideal compliment to the work I do and the interests I have. The program requires LOTS of reading, writing and dialog – in short, it encapsulates the ideals of a traditional socratic education. It is rigorous and intellectually challenging. I expect to continue to have my assumptions tested by the learning materials, the faculty, and my learning peers. I have 12 credits to go in the M.Ed. and hope to be finished by Summer 2011.

Why do I torture myself like this? Isn’t it easier to just operate on the same assumptions that have brought me life and career success to this point? Why spend ridiculous sums of money for an education that is in no way guaranteed to pay itself off anytime soon (and tuition is ridiculous these days, even with the 75% discount I get as a PSU staff member)? The answer lies in the intangibles, and I suppose the best analogy I can come up with is to compare intellectual pursuit to physical fitness.

I spend a monthly fee to go to a local gym, which I try to frequent at least 3-4 times a week. If I could run or follow exercise tapes like some of my peers, I would, believe me, to save money. Physical limitation dictate that I can’t, however – besides, I like the social atmosphere of an exercise club. But I digress. Even though I can’t run, I still have a deep need for rigorous physical exercise. The benefits are numerous and so are the drawbacks to not exercising – without regular exercise, my body gets soft, my mood sours and I lose some ability to focus. With regular exercise and meeting its associated goals, I get a sense of pride and accomplishment that is nothing to scoff at. I believe that equally important is the regular and rigorous exercise of the mind and intellect. Doing things the same way all the time, never really learning or being intellectually challenged, leads to the same type of atrophy that lack of exercise leads to. This is a belief I have for which I have no concrete proof (though I’m pretty sure that mentally challenging activities can stave off dementia in the elderly). I just feel it. I am a lifelong learner, just as I am a lifelong exerciser.

I will come back to this blog space as I can as the semester progresses. I won’t bore you with the mundane details of my individual class assignments here (unless the class requires it), though I will still post my writings to the Writings section. My intention is to use the blog for outside-of-class reflections on how what I’m learning relates to my work or life. Adieu for now.