Learning, is it an increase in head knowledge, or an understanding through experience? What is it to learn? As children we are taught our times tables, but we also learn to ride a bike. Can you learn to ride a bike without ever getting on one? Even when you have learnt, you must develop the skill further for example if you want to go mountain biking in rocky hills. Again, this is only achieved by practice through experience. Schools prepare us for life, so they say, but do they? Can we get that experience of the 'real world' at school? Do we need the simplified basics first in order to develop our understanding of the more complicated things we will encounter later on in life? Coursework is an example of simplified reality. In a controlled environment, students can explore how something outworks itself. There is usually a clear conclusion that can be drawn, with tangible answers.
Through school we learn that head knowledge is important and valuable, which it is. But on its own, does it help us later on in life? At 16, kids are given the opportunity to learn vocational skills. These incorporate work experience and placements, which give the students a feel of the reality of that career. They learn to deal with different types of customers, how to think on their feet when faced with problems they haven't been taught a solution for. This type of learning is what makes people skilled professionals. They can know every textbook available, but it is if they can adapt to situations and solve problems, they are likely to be more successful in their vocational career.
As a student of complementary medicine, I am all too aware that what I learn in the salon will not cover me for the sort of things I will come across when working professionally. The range of clients that I treat in college, and their psychological and physical problems they may have, are limited. I am grateful that the college require every student to go on a placement as it gives me the chance for an insight into the realities of the professional world of complementary therapies.
In the short time I was on my placement at the TSL Holistic Centre, I have come across types of people I doubt I never would at college. The TSL Holistic Centre is very holistic and looks into the spiritual side far more than we do at college. By being exposed to new things, new methods and ideas, I can develop my own understanding of the therapies I offer as a whole. If someone had told me about the things I learn on my placement, it would not have meant much to me. But because I experienced it first hand, it has added to my learning.
You can 'know' any number of things intellectually, but it is only when you experience the reality of those things that you grasp a fuller knowledge of them. This knowledge brings with it confidence. Confidence (not to be confused with arrogance) improves how someone works professionally as it gives him or her a positive mental attitude. This feeling of 'I understand' having come through personal experience allows them to know the limits within which they can work, and by having a fuller picture, is able to see more solutions to any one problem.
Learning through experience gives you a wider picture of your profession. It is like taking a step up a ladder and being able to see further, where as book knowledge is like having a photograph of what you can see from that step.
www.tslholistic.co.uk
Lizzy Grenfell - TSL Holistic Centre - info@tslholistic.co.uk
Through school we learn that head knowledge is important and valuable, which it is. But on its own, does it help us later on in life? At 16, kids are given the opportunity to learn vocational skills. These incorporate work experience and placements, which give the students a feel of the reality of that career. They learn to deal with different types of customers, how to think on their feet when faced with problems they haven't been taught a solution for. This type of learning is what makes people skilled professionals. They can know every textbook available, but it is if they can adapt to situations and solve problems, they are likely to be more successful in their vocational career.
As a student of complementary medicine, I am all too aware that what I learn in the salon will not cover me for the sort of things I will come across when working professionally. The range of clients that I treat in college, and their psychological and physical problems they may have, are limited. I am grateful that the college require every student to go on a placement as it gives me the chance for an insight into the realities of the professional world of complementary therapies.
In the short time I was on my placement at the TSL Holistic Centre, I have come across types of people I doubt I never would at college. The TSL Holistic Centre is very holistic and looks into the spiritual side far more than we do at college. By being exposed to new things, new methods and ideas, I can develop my own understanding of the therapies I offer as a whole. If someone had told me about the things I learn on my placement, it would not have meant much to me. But because I experienced it first hand, it has added to my learning.
You can 'know' any number of things intellectually, but it is only when you experience the reality of those things that you grasp a fuller knowledge of them. This knowledge brings with it confidence. Confidence (not to be confused with arrogance) improves how someone works professionally as it gives him or her a positive mental attitude. This feeling of 'I understand' having come through personal experience allows them to know the limits within which they can work, and by having a fuller picture, is able to see more solutions to any one problem.
Learning through experience gives you a wider picture of your profession. It is like taking a step up a ladder and being able to see further, where as book knowledge is like having a photograph of what you can see from that step.
www.tslholistic.co.uk
Lizzy Grenfell - TSL Holistic Centre - info@tslholistic.co.uk
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