Filter Coffee #081

On Continuing Education

Dear Readers, 

I was quite flattered, and surprised too, to see that FC #80 resonated with many of you and that it was what we refer to as ‘comic relief’.

All of you must have celebrated Lohri, Bhogi, Bihu, Sankranti and Pongal with your family.

Tarun Kunzru aptly summarises the benefits of laughter by saying, “Laughter, and importantly, laughing at oneself is so critical for good health & happiness.”

My friend Ajit Rangnekar from Hyderabad says that PJs were quite (un)popular in IIT and he goes on to share two PJs:

What comes after USA?
USB, of course

What is blue and not heavy?
Light blue

Ajit, PJs should be (f)unpopular!

Krupa Murthy has this to say: “Pras, You said, ‘Stay in the living room, you won't die of laughing’ but I will die of starvation!”. Krupa, it would be a good idea to consider a ‘living cum dining room’ Or see if a belly full of laughter helps 😃

S G Murali shares this joke:

“Two friends were talking. One said ‘I met Srini after a long time. He said he has been following Veda for a long time and he does only what Veda approves. I never realised he is so religious and pious.’

The other friend laughed and said, ‘Oh no. Veda is the name of his wife!’”

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📚 Continuing Education

In FC 51, I wrote about the ‘Learning Curve’ and it was well-received. Having put myself on the learning curve of writing, I have since then realised that aside from learning how to write well, one has to develop certain intuitive thinking which will come only when you are well-read and are willing to educate yourself and be to be educated. In that sense, have found the comments of my readers very educational besides inspiring me to write more. 

But now and then I imagine that I have run out of ideas and I have experienced ‘writer’s block’, which is difficult to visualise. The best way to understand it is to imagine a wall that has blocked your way which you are unable to jump without the help of someone doing a heave-ho or getting something to stand on and pulling yourself up. Because of this wall in my mind, I found myself sitting like this:

I believe being on the learning curve may help you articulate your thoughts in well-crafted sentences but the difference between form and content lies in knowing how to write and what to write. One must read and research and acquire a greater understanding of the treatment given to diverse topics by many celebrated authors. You have to emulate the author's ability to become an authority over a subject besides being able to authoritatively speak on that subject.

This is where 'Continuing education’ assumes significance. I told myself that unless I educate myself I will not be able to write in a manner that would appeal to my readers. We are familiar with the words form and content. However good the form is, if the content is hollow it will fall flat.

Continuing education is all about being on a quest for content.  

Mysore University, where I studied, had a ‘Department of Continuing Education’. Later, I discovered that almost all universities including Harvard and Oxford have such a department.

Continuing education is designed to help adults to return to the mainstream of education and acquire additional qualifications that may aid their career progression. It is about returning to formal instruction to remain current in one’s career, develop serviceable skills, train for a new job, earn a degree, or develop a personal interest. It also extends to students who take part-time courses to augment their knowledge and skills. To that extent, it is a structured approach and is open to all those interested. 

Since I am keen on augmenting my knowledge and newer skills of written communication, the concept of continuing education appeals to me. Coming up with fresh ideas and new content is not possible unless you are willing to read or listen. I have discovered that reading improves your knowledge of a particular subject and opens up the mind. Listening to podcasts also helps. Sometimes, I read or listen focusing on the way an idea is presented and not on the idea itself. In the process, I am focusing on form and not the content. 

Reading fiction is far easier than reading non-fiction. There’s a tussle here between short-term and long-term memory. Fiction is usually read for entertainment value, it might not be something that you would want to remember for long — it finds a place in your short-term memory. On the other hand, non-fiction essentially constitutes knowledge and so is consigned to long-term memory. Of course, that isn’t to say that fiction can’t be beneficial. Reading fiction can help unlock writer’s block. However, reading non-fiction in a given field of interest can be considered continuing education. As I am writing this, I am already wondering what I will write next week and whether I could have written last week’s post any better. I am like Charlie Brown in this strip:

When I became a lawyer I came across the acronym CLE which stood for ‘Continuing Legal Education’. Though it is not mandated in India, in many jurisdictions it is obligatory for legal professionals to participate in approved continuing legal education programmes to be able to earn the CLE credits required to retain their license to practice law.

Like many people who do course correction in their academic career, my wife too, after graduating, joined a course for teaching the hearing impaired and has since then been engaged with children with hearing impairment for three decades. In her, I find a perfect example of continuing education. She doesn’t miss any podcast or webinar where they share teaching experiences and new teaching tools. Not happy with sign language, she became an auditory-verbal therapist, stimulating speech in children who have had cochlear implants. I am sure there are thousands of such people who have pursued new avenues of training and education.

The quest for knowledge and learning is endless. Learning is the process of studying, teaching, and education. Knowledge involves understanding, comprehension, and mastery. A music or art critic may not know how to sing or paint but has tremendous knowledge to be able to give his or her views authoritatively. 

Continuing education is also about learning new things to keep your mind and body engaged. I am, in fact, quite impressed with the initiative taken by Silver Talkies, an organization that celebrates seniors who are 55+ through various programmes and activities. One of these is a weekly singing class that encourages many people who have not sung before to discover their vocal abilities and sing songs under the guidance of Mrs. Rajam, an enthusiastic and patient teacher.

Silver Talkies is constantly bringing the best in the field to share their knowledge or teach the participants new skills. I recommend everyone who is 55+ to visit their website.

Continuing education also could mean learning new ways of easing your tensions 😃

Here is another dentist joke:

On the tombstone of a Dentist: “Here lies Dr. Al Dante, filling his last cavity”

Dear Readers, COVID has taught us new ways to cope with it and we have learnt to overcome the fear it induced in us. We are still on the learning curve. Stay on top and don’t let your mask slip. Cheers!