So here goes - my first blog post. I have absolutely no idea what I am doing on Blogger, and only a shadowy understanding of where I am in the doctoral program. I am slowly seeing the information coming together - just glimpses of concepts, really. But I am gaining some shaky footing at last.
I like the concepts of andragogy. I honestly wonder why it isn't more well known. In our last faculty meeting not many people even seemed familiar with the term. Some of the concepts are pretty basic. We learn best when we are learning something we are interested in or can see a need for in our lives. Certainly not revolutionary thinking, but surprisingly uncommon.
I'll get to the articles next post. Just wanted to set up the blog and play with the templates tonight. Took some time off this weekend to go to a friend's father's funeral. Drove 7 hrs with one of my best friends to get there. So glad we went. We arrived the night before the funeral and drove into the small town of Ocean Isle in the dark. It was cold and windy and unfamiliar. In the morning the sun rose and revealed a beautiful beach. It was still cold and very windy, but strangely inviting. Bracing ourselves against the cold and the biting wind, we walked a little way out on the beach because we were there. Actually a great metaphor for the doctoral program itself. It is an unfamiliar landscape with difficult conditions - the amount of reading is overwhelming, the work itself is extremely challenging on top of the usual demands of a busy life, and the new realms of knowledge seem to keep shifting like sand under my feet. Yet the desire to learn is compelling, so I keep moving forward. After all, I'm here. Surely the weather will eventually change and the beach will become more familiar. I'll just keep walking...
