Friday 14 January 2011

Education........


South Devon College with the new University Centre



When I had just left school someone asked me what I thought of the statement ‘Education is what is left after you have forgotten what you had learnt’ and to be quite honest at the time I didn’t really think about it at all. I now know that the quotation came from Einstein and oddly enough after all these years it still troubles me.

This month I have a French girl working at Harbour Sports as a business intern and today I took her to South Devon College for a quick tour. Amelie was impressed with what she found, stunned by the view of The Street from the third floor and enjoyed meeting Pat Denham (South Devon College Deputy CEO). We also had a little trip around the new University Centre, which is where I work on a part time basis as a lecturer and business innovation mentor.

I love South Devon College and think that what has happened there is quite amazing in building a community that has become exclusive by being inclusive. Now that may sound a little odd, so let me explain. I have always worried about the huge number of young people who become disenfranchised and marginalised during their school years. Their identity, the way they feel about themselves, may well build a life that becomes hardened by that feeling of marginalisation. You have only to walk around the campus to see how this community pulls together and offers a shared and meaningful experience to all.

So what about all that learning? How do we use that knowledge in a world that is increasingly dysfunctional? What do we do with the skills gathered? Well it is perhaps upon that very platform we build the future. A platform that is indeed the essence of what is left when learning merges into everyday life. After all is said and done learning is so much more than lessons and lectures. It is about the totality of that experience.

Hmm, a shared experience in a caring environment. Is it really that difficult?