This week is Adult Learners’ Week and it makes me think back to the “reason” I became a trainer and assessor, and what inspires adult learners to learn.
To be honest my “reason” for becoming a trainer and assessor began when I was at trade school.
You see when I left school, I didn’t know what I wanted to be when I grew up. I found out in last week’s blog post, that there is a name for people like me – (crediting Emilie Wapnick’s term) a multipotentialite. It is a superpower, and we can do whatever we set our mind to.
I frustrated my teachers because I refused to apply for Uni. I honestly couldn’t see the point. I had no “reason” to go.
I applied for two apprenticeships. Chef and waiter. I was interviewed and asked which one I really wanted to do. I was working in a small on-trend café at the time and worked both front and back of house. I love people. I chose waiting.
So, back to trade school and the “reason” I became a trainer and assessor.
We used to do full service back then. Bow ties, waistcoats, waiters’ cloths, immaculate crisp linen, the cutlery, flatware, hollowware and glassware were polished to gleaming. There were neck ties on wine bottles and a drink never left the bar without a garnish. We had other classes as well, but our practical assessment was in the restaurant. The apprentice chefs cooked the food, we served it, the public got to dine out for a reduced rate and everyone was happy.
The assessor sat at a table for one in the front of the restaurant. They were waited on hand and foot and dined on a three (sometimes five) course meal, drinking the appropriate accompaniments to each course, beginning with an aperitif.
I looked over at one of the assessors one shift and thought, “I’m going to be like you one day”.
Over the years I trained many people in the tricks of the trade, and learned tricks from others, working beside them as their colleague or manager. When my business partner and I began (and ran) our own small eatery, we partnered with the local high school and their hospitality students came to us for practical placement. We trained those young adults to have the passion and pride that we had, and went on to employ them.
I worked for 18 years in hospitality before I completed my Certificate IV in Training and Assessment.
Hospitality is my area of expertise, however, I soon branched out into other areas such as digital literacy and a short course called ‘Prepare for study’.
I want to share with you the importance of having a “reason” to learn and how that sits as an adult learner.
A kitchen hand…
A kitchen hand leaves school at 14 and 9 months. Just as soon as they can. One of the teachers had told him he would never amount to anything. He loves music and dining out. He gains a chef apprenticeship; he finishes the apprenticeship and works as a chef. As a young adult, he decides he would like to pursue his music career. He completes his music degree, later, a masters and works toward his PhD. Becoming a chef gave him a “reason” to leave school and continue to learn.
She left school early because she fell pregnant…
An early school leaver enters my class. She left school early because she fell pregnant with her first child. She has three more children and they are all now at school. She is in my ‘Prepare for study’ class. She is quiet and reserved, she tells me she is dumb, she can’t use a computer, that she was never any good at school, her teachers hated her. I pointed out that she had been running a household with four kids for the last 10 years, they are all excellent children and that meant she had a huge skill set that I didn’t have time to list. She was taught to turn on the computer, open a word document, file it, type into it and shown how to manage her time while she studies. She finished her Certificate III in Individual Support a year later and works in the aged care field. She learned to use that computer because she had a “reason” to do so.
I began writing assessments and content for my own courses because I didn’t like the ones I was using. I learned more and more about the digital space, e-learning and course creation because I had found a “reason” to do so.
I could go on forever with stories like this, but the point is that we all have a little genius in us.
Our brains are wired to learn from the moment we are born. Adult learners are exceptional. They decide what they would like to learn and they go about learning it. They support one another and they learn from one another. I can’t count the amount of things that I have learned from my students over the last 12 years.
Adult learners are amazing, give them one “reason” to study and they’ll learn what they want to know.
Featured image by Michael Browning on Unsplash
