Reclaiming Lifelong Learning

I am a lifelong learner. I became serious about learning only after I left college. In fact, my 'conversion' came much later in life, once I left my comfort zone, migrated to another country and went back to college, first with an instrumental objective to get a qualification but eventually for learning. 

I grew up a Brahmin in India. My upbringing was traditional. I was surrounded by books, music and theatre, but no one was talking about going back to college at a late age. It was not 'learning' but self-cultivation that I saw. My grandfather, in his eighties and with fading eyesight would still read, by holding the books very close to his eyes - that is the image I carried in my head. We would have guests from town (we lived in the suburb) on some Sundays, when the best cutlery would come out and we would eat on the dining table, talking about cultural events around us. However, though my father taught English Literature at a local college, there was no hint of academic work in our daily lives. Equally, my grandfather was an entrepreneur but we never spoke about money.

There is an upspoken assumption in all this. Books, conversations, culture had nothing to do with qualifications, and neither these had anything to do with work. One did these things as a matter of course, as a part of good life. One did these because it was supposed to be done, like waking up in the morning or eating good food. I was breaking something when I was going back to college seeking a degree late in life, whatever the reason for it may be. In my case, it was literally keeping up with the work requirements - I started working in higher ed in England and thought I needed a degree - but such a thing was not supposed to be taken too seriously.

Going back to the college gave me a sanctuary from my daily, mind-numbing commercial work. When I eventually settled to take up education as a labour of love, I chose to go to Birkbeck College, hoping to meet others who are at a similar stage in life and who are similarly motivated. I enjoyed the evenings when I could let go of my daily superficialities, which is the bane of the modern office life, and tried to imagine myself as a historian. It did give me a disciplinary way of looking at things, which I eventually came to appreciate. And yet, the programmes were very much structured for the traditional full-time students, and assessments were narrow and conventional - college did eventually interfere with the joy of self-cultivation!

Therefore, my heart fills with dread as the British government wakes up to Lifelong Learning. Not that we need continuous learning more than ever, but the government talking about it means that they would throw money at it and the charlatans of the world, who have already messed up university education, would now jump into it. The trouble with university education - at least a large part of it - is not that the Professors are crazy or out of touch; it is that the superficial private sector executives who have no idea, worse, no interest, who get into education because the government throws money at it. 

This is not meant to be a rant against private education, though. I have spent my entire working life in private higher ed (and even wrote a thesis on it) and I am intimately aware of some great examples of private education that not only offers great student experience but also leads the innovation in the sector. However, private education funded by public money is usually a disaster, for several reasons. Firstly, the public authorities usually have no idea how private enterprises are incentivised: They operate with the assumption that public and private higher education are exactly the same, private being the poorer, younger cousin of the public. This unified regulatory and funding approach create the most abuse: It robs private education its incentive to innovate and imposes on it a mimicry of the public sector, without the commitments inherent in it. Secondly, the government money goes to the people government money goes to, people who know how to play the system rather than those who are trying to create a good education proposition. In fact, the government money creates an anti-competitive privilege for those who are able to access the money, and stamps out others who would rather have a more competitive sector. Finally, the public funding of private education not only lowers the quality of service and innovation in private sector, it also does the same for the public operators. 

Now, at the very moment when self-cultivation is more important than ever, the government announcement on lifelong learning is frightening. There is already excitement among the usual suspects, who have abused the UK student loans to enrich themselves, as this being the next big thing. But I am not worried so much about the abuse (I am resigned to the fact that a mixed system would always lead to the abuse of government funds) but the fact that this would create the kind of negativity around lifelong learning that we see for skills training and university education today. 

It is also that I have been trying to pivot the business I run to Lifelong Learning, as I see the mid-career executives being completely clueless about the changes in the workplaces and the demise of the familiar economic structures. I am building a system, upon my previous body of work: Let's call it the 5 Capabilities for the 21st century Citizen. 

My model is still predicated on a commitment to learning, but instead of labelling this Growth Mindset - a common term used in schools and colleges - I am inclined to see this as A Sense of Wonder. This is Curiosity but more than that - an ability to find things to be curious about thrown in. The next is A Sense of Purpose - the drive that gets one off the bed every morning and keep them awake at night, something bigger than themselves and outside their daily preoccupation. For me, the interplay of wonder and purpose 

Third is An Ability to Connect as I firmly believe that we are social creatures and knowing is never complete without connecting the dots, between sources of knowledge, people and ideas. Fourth on my list is An Ability to Relate, as I see meaningful cultivation is the process of overcoming the self and becoming a part of a collective.

And, finally, the implicit ability that makes all of this work is the Ability to Commit, to stay focused over a long period of time, to do certain things as rituals, to aim for something without immediate gratification - in summary, the ability to form habits. 

This is built on the structure I have been working on since 2017, but instead of making students employable, I am now looking at more general application.