The sadly suddenly late Dr Michael Mosley in his recent series just one thing looked at the value of learning a new skill.
Researchers from Herriot Watt University said activities that involve a combination of physical, mental, and social elements seem to be particularly beneficial. So they advised finding something that fits you as an individual.
Tiller itch as a continuous cruiser is an unpleasant thing to encounter, one of the strangest things being that we’ve become so used to being together most of the day on most days, and activities that distract us from being apart and being static are becoming invaluable. For me perhaps I’m the one with less to distract me 24/7 or perhaps I’m the one who demands more distraction. I have been enthusiastically crafting, boxes of stock building up on the boat ready for this weekend’s FAB Festival (Folk and Boat) at Middlewich. But there is a need for more diversion, perhaps more structure, to replace the regular movement of boat and location.
I’ve always enjoyed learning for learning’s sake. The discovery of new skills as a focus for the mind, the body and the opportunity to do that in person, meeting new people with new outlooks, new ideas seems to offer much to invigorate and inspire. But I know that for me, learning needs to have a purpose, a motivating reason to engage, to have relevance to my life.
At the moment the family focus is on our younger daughter’s wedding next month. I’ve just spent months very happily making her veil, embellishing it with pearls and embroidery. Now that’s over I’m turning my thoughts to wedding flowers. I was thrilled to be asked by her to help with these although my own mother’s somewhat scathing comment about my total inability to create stunning flower arrangements as she definitely could, rather alarmingly keeps running through my mind…
I’ve researched broken arches (not something that needs a podiatrist), bouquets, buttonholes, table decorations, and practiced with locally sourced foliage and flowers. But still, I feel a lack of confidence.
Imagine my delight when I discovered (was this Meta overhearing my conversations?) a local college running a short floristry course. Six weeks of wedding floristry were contained in the course description (yes, I as a student did actually read the course description…and assessment!) Something as an academic I always doubted happened normally. Within minutes I’d clicked, paid, and apparently enrolled. Suddenly, inverting just a couple of hours a week seemed of immense value and was opening new possibilities. The final assessment would be the week before The Wedding, although, to be honest, my final assessment in my head will be the wedding itself.
I had an email back with my student id and email. Result. I logged in. My timetable was blank although my Course Description clearly showed Wedding Floristry AC082-CLPL and my payment was both accepted and registered. I prepared to arrive just 3 days later on the Tuesday morning at 10am as indicated.
The following day brought a phone call. Not enough people had enrolled for Wedding Floristry, would I accept Celebration Floristry instead? Same cost, but now Wednesday 1-3pm instead of Tuesdays 10-12. Ah did I realise there had never been a Tuesday course? Some mistake, surely, as they had only ever intended running on a Wednesday morning, but now weren’t doing that. Where had I got the idea of a Tuesday morning from? Only from course publicity.
Still, I’d enrolled on something, and sure enough, when I turned up on the Wednesday lunchtime, I was allowed to get a student card after being asked 3 times what I was teaching. (This happens when you look to be long out of your early 20s or teens). This card, even with my now natural hair colour, gets me student discounts I discovered. It also gives me access to – wait for it – the construction building. Of course, where else would you find floristry?
We’re now two weeks in, and I’ve learned an amazing amount, it seems, in an incredibly short space of time. Flower preparation, wiring, making buttonholes, arrangement proportions, a bit of botany and use of the colour wheel, as well as the importance of the 3 Fs – focal, foliage and fillers. I’ve had (and fortunately passed) my first assessment.
The expertise of professionals generously given because of their love for their subject and gratefully harnessed by further education is a major plus of our education system. This is particularly true where adult education is concerned.
I’ve also learned how hard it is sitting on hard chairs for two hours; the value of peer learning; how inspiring sharing creative ideas can be; how stimulating it is to do something new with new people with different backgrounds and outlooks to my own; , the importance of rereading the notes you took soon after you took them; and how quickly something can make you think in a different way.
It is remarkable how rapidly you can lose yourself in an activity and forget the outside world for a time. It’s something I intend to keep doing, to look for opportunities to engage with others and learn in a sociable environment as we travel. The 14-day mooring window certainly has the potential to give scope for such opportunities, particularly when waterways loop around a town or city. I know there are brilliant, engaging and challengone online courses but meeting and engaging with people in a course environment brings a new perspective and insight to an area, a chance to learn about a region, a place, a town, or a city, and its people. Learning in a social environment offers much more than just discovering a new subject, as I’m delightedly finding out. I highly recommend it – I’m enthusiastically buttonholed now as a lifelong learner in face-to-face education!
Pickingupducks 