Lifelong Learning

I: Welcome to our show and today our guest is Dr. Tom Baker,  author  of “Lifelong Learning “ a new book, which has got a lot of people talking. Tell us a bit about the book.

T: Well, basically it is about how and when we acquire different skills in life. I discussed the skills we develop throughout our life and how learning is a lifelong process  and not just something we do between the ages of five and eighteen when we receive our formal education.

I: I see, what sort of skills do you mean?

T: Well, we all need a wide range of skills in order to succeed  in life. For example we need to learn cognitive skills to be able to develop our concentration and memory and learn how to think so how we can begin problem solving. We also need perceptual skills, so we can interpret and presented information and social skills in order to be able to relate well to other people. Then, There are all sorts of skills sub skills such as creative thinking and decision making, not to mention practical skills and work related skills.

I: So, how, when and where do we learn these skills?

T:A lot of these skills we learn naturally from being in different social situations and environments. We literally pick them up without realizing. However, others we have to work hard to acquire.

I:  I see.

T:  Cognitive skills development, for example, begins naturally in infancy, that is primarily encouraged by parents and family , but it is further developed the nursery school by caregivers with educational toys and games. And then when we go to school , college, university and beyond, we develop these skills further.

I: So, educational institutions are obviously very important then.

T: Of course, everyone should receive an education that helps them develop important skills such as independent thought and judgement . They also need to be able to make their own decisions, solve their problems and show their own responsibilities. Teachers, parents and caregivers can help children to grow up with the personal resources and intellectual tools they need to understand the world and behave as responsible human beings. We are learning   all the time from all sorts of different influences.

I: Specifically?

T: Well, we develop social skills when interacting with our peers, joining social groups, making friends at school, meeting and working with colleagues in the workplace and so on.

I: Aha!

T: In truth we never stop learning and our understanding can be developed and improved by all kinds of human experiences. Take traveling for example, many teenagers take a gap year between they need to  start  work to travel and have varied and interesting experiences. Other people retire somewhere warm and find themselves learning  a new language in their later years.

I:Okay, but what about people how don’t do well in school, don’t go to university, have a boring repetitive job and don’t have the opportunity to go abroad. What opportunities do they have to learn?

T: Well, we all have free time. Our leisure activities are important learning opportunities. We can learn physical skills, artistic skills ,and practical skills at any age from the different activities we do in our free time. Most people these days have a computer and everyone can develop their IT skills and open themselves to the internet which is a huge source of information for people who want to learn anything and everything.

I: That’s fair enough, but what about absolutely sloth, who does nothing in their free time, except flop down in front the TV?

T: Haha, they can learn from the TV and radio programs, magazines, newspapers and so on. They can learn to filter and organize information, so they find what is interesting to them among the visual and audio messages they are all burdened with.

I: Okay now I happen to think that the most important life skills of common sense and good judgment ,but these are not taught in school ,or anyway  how can someone develop these skills?

T: Well, these are more or less innate skills that we pick up by going through different life experiences, basically learning by our mistakes so better still by watching others mistakes and not making the same ones.

I: Haha, well, it’s a fascinating topic, but I’m afraid we are out of time. “Lifelong Learning” is available now from all reading retailers. Thank you so much for coming!