| Written By Craig Scharton |
There has been a lot of talk about Lifelong Learning over the past decade. Just keeping up with changing technology requires us to continually update our skills. There are a variety of ways to continue to learn in our work and personal lives.
At the beginning of this year I had a
quick decision
to make. A local gentleman named Lee Ayres was
encouraging me to get a Master's degree so
that I
could continue teach. Lee
pointed me in the direction of another local
treasure,
Carissa Phelps, who connected me to a Master's
Program in
Community
Economic Development. Our classes are
held in L.A. 3 days a month (Fri-Sun) and the
rest is on-line. I am now in my second
semester.
I've been involved with economic
development, in one way or another, since 1987.
Yet I
learn something from every class that I can put
into use within a week. At first
I thought that school would
be like adding another project to my existing
workload,
but I was wrong. It is really like getting a
part-time job.
School requires me to read in a different way
and write in a different way. I am learning new
ways to do research.
I'm sure that if you hooked my brain up to an
EEG,
there would be sections that would be lighting up
that hadn't
been used in years (maybe decades?).
Reentering college has really raised my
enthusiasm for the Lifelong Learning ideal. I
know that I am gaining
personally, I am better at my job and I
will have more to offer my community.
Whether you begin by taking our free online
assessment at CVBI, or you
enroll in a
formal program at one of our community
colleges (West
Hills
Community College District, State Center
Community
College District, or College of the
Sequoias), or our local universities (Fresno State, Fresno
Pacific, San Joaquin
College of
Law, or UC
Merced), I encourage you to take
advantage of your inquisitive mind and the
wonderful
opportunities for Lifelong Learning that
surround us.
One of the most reliable statistics used for
gauging
a region's economic health is educational
attainment of its citizens. Do your part for
our economy --
join Rodney Dangerfield and me by going back to
school.
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