It is quite possible to be put off learning something, even though
you are really interested in the subject. In many cases it emerges, on
further discussion, that you were turned off the very first time you
attempted to do something, as my wife was from playing the piano.
As an adult learner (and as a child), by not asking questions
like some of the ones we have been exploring, you can miss the crit-
ical moment of context when you could establish the connection
between the learning being offered and your own life and needs.
Perhaps if my wife had been able to ask questions that would have
helped her understand what it was her music teacher wanted, she
might have had a different experience when she was a child.
You may have felt a similar experience if you have ever been
in a situation where you had something very difficult or sensitive to
tell someone. Bad news is a good example of this. If you do not
broach the subject immediately, all is lost. It becomes steadily more
embarrassing to say what was on your mind.
If learning is to be successful, you need to connect to it
actively. In the act of connecting you are, of course, creating oppor-
tunities for influencing the style of the learning. A facilitator who is
asked to recap on what has gone before and what is planned for the
session is being helped to do a better job. By asking questions about
the use of different media, you are seeding ideas that may not
otherwise have been in the mind of whoever is working with you.
Of course, this needs to be done in such a way that it does not come
over as one person “parading” their knowledge.
Tuning in your mind
The process of connection is really about tuning in. Just as when
you go abroad it takes a while for your ears to become attuned to
the unaccustomed sounds of the strange language you hear, so it
takes time for your mind to become attuned to the medium or
method it is being invited to employ.
Your brain, as you have already discovered, loves patterns.
You can put this characteristic to good use when it comes to tuning
into learning.
Resourcefulness 105
