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The Importance of Lifelong Learning

When finishing school, many students feel relieved to have a brain break, no longer having to sit in a classroom listening to a teacher talk to them about information they might never use outside of the classroom, and doing homework that has no relevance to them. In school, learning new things might seem like a task, but it actually has real benefits that can be used and applied to situations throughout your life. As educators in a private school, we believe that keeping your mind open to new learning opportunities will not only keep you up-to-date with the current world and keep your mind agile, but will also give you transitional skills that you can apply to a number of situations. The best part is, lifelong learning doesn’t have homework assignments, stress, tests, projects, or teachers. Lifelong learning is something you do on your own, at your own pace, and for your own interest. You can choose anything you want! From computer skills, to playing the piano, to learning how to draw, to learning photography — there is no shortage of skills and knowledge waiting to be found by you!

What Is Lifelong Learning?

Lifelong learning embodies the belief that ongoing, voluntary, and self-motivated learning will enhance personal development, self-sustainability, social inclusion, and active citizenship. Curious minds are the ones continuously changing the world around them for the better. There is a wealth of knowledge waiting to be found and utilized, and it is up to you to venture out and learn new things. At Resurrection Christian School, our curriculum offers rich and dynamic courses that provide great learning opportunities, helping to kick-off your learning experience. Lifelong learning is critical for everyone, whether you’re still in school, a recent college graduate, or have been out of school for years and have a career. Continuously learning about the world around you widens your horizons, perspectives, and adaptability. 

Why Should You Partake in Lifelong Learning?

It’s a Workout For Your Brain

There are countless reasons why lifelong learning is beneficial to you. Voluntarily discovering new things can keep your mind sharp and your brain healthy. Your brain is a muscle, and just like other muscles in your body, your brain needs to be challenged and “worked out” in order to grow stronger and more reliable. Lifelong learning helps build your creativity and intellectual ability. The knowledge you pick up throughout your life can be used in diverse and meaningful ways, which, in turn, helps you live consciously. When making important decisions, your thoughts will be informed and deliberate instead of being fueled exclusively by emotion or instinct. Further, learning new things builds your cognitive ability, strengthening your brain and helping to slow the deterioration of your memory, attention, and problem-solving abilities. 

You Learn Valuable, Practical Life Lessons

As you grow older, you learn things like how to pay rent, balance a checkbook, fix appliances around your home, budgeting, or even how to tell if your car isn’t running properly. These are all components of lifelong learning, which is something you probably didn’t even think about when you were learning them! Technical skills like these are extremely important as you grow older and acquire new responsibilities because they not only help you live and succeed, but it shows people around you that you are responsible and knowledgeable. Maybe you had to learn something new for a job, like web analysis or handling finances, that you had no previous knowledge or experience with. That’s lifelong learning too! Once you take a look around and become aware that you got to where you are today because of a willingness to learn and explore new things, you’ll realize that learning is easy, fun, and hugely beneficial to your success. 

There Are Personal, Social, and Professional Benefits

Among the great reasons why continuing to learn throughout your life is tremendously helpful is the self-confidence boost that lifelong learning produces. As you acquire new skills and knowledge from interacting with the world around you, you begin to trust yourself and your competence. The experience you possess is personal to you because not everyone will know what you know, giving you an edge and singular view of the world. The wisdom we gain when we open our minds doesn’t always have to take the form of countless books filling our living room or awards lining walls. Sometimes, lifelong learning takes the form of self-fulfillment and the creation of an enriching life. Lifelong learning can help give your life meaning. 

In addition to improving personal development, lifelong learning helps establish your presence in the public sphere. Lifelong learning is, at its core, a social process. It encourages social engagement because as you learn, you will often have to take risks, adapt to new situations, and fail or succeed in front of others. Socializing through learning can build your social circle and can expose new opportunities to learn and grow. Your peers, friends, family, and coworkers will notice that you are eager to take the time to learn new things, helping them form a positive, trustworthy, and reliant image of you. There is evidence that shows social connections can help you live a longer and happier life. Being open to sharing this new-found information will provide an extra boost in your social standing as well. 

No matter where you work, your goal of lifelong learning exhibits intellectual curiosity and intelligence. While you might not know in-depth information about a specific topic, lifelong learning can help you acquire general knowledge about a vast range of topics. Your ability and desire to learn new things will promote an image that is informed, literate, open-minded and experienced. These qualities can get you quite far in the professional world, as some of the knowledge and skills you pursue can be considered as transitional skills and can be applied to many jobs, helping with job mobility and raises or promotions. You will be considered a valuable, competitive, and preferred candidate for many opportunities.

There’s No Excuse To Not Engage in Lifelong Learning

With the advancement of digital technology and the internet, there is no excuse not to engage in lifelong learning — it’s literally at your fingertips. You don’t have to bore yourself with lengthy scientific articles, you can find the motivation to learn things that are relevant to your life. If you find yourself stumped on things you want to learn, however, don’t pressure yourself. Pick up a pencil and write down the first things that come to mind when thinking about skills you’ve always to learn but might never had time to. Remember, the key with lifelong learning is that it’s just that — you have your entire life to learn new skills. There’s no one over your shoulder giving you deadlines for these acquired skills. If you want to learn how to play the piano, dedicate 20 minutes a day to familiarizing yourself with the keys, or spread an hour of practice time throughout the week. If you love to garden but every plant you bring home dies, read up on gardening specifics, like how often to water your plants, what kind of soil to use, or which plants thrive in certain climates. Being open and curious gives you the freedom to investigate anything you want. The world around us would not exist as it does if people were not motivated and inspired to advance everyday life or find solutions to problems. 

No matter if you go to a private school, charter school, or are out of school,  lifelong learning is available to everyone. At Resurrection Christian School, we understand the value of lifelong learning and encourage our students to stay motivated to explore the world around them and learn new things.