A Course, Of Course
Have you been on a course lately – training rather than the 18-hole green? You could be in the minority if you are not learning a new skill or updating an old one. Continuing education is the new leisure activity. It has been a good option, online, for anyone currently on lockdown and furloughed from a job they’d like to change.
What Is on the Menu?
Traditional evening classes, often held in secondary schools, academies and technical colleges after hours, not only offer “school” subjects, but also recreational pursuits such as pottery, cookery or woodwork, as well as self-improvement skills, like foreign languages, car maintenance, flower arranging and gardening.
Certain sports and pastimes are available – 5-a-side football, badminton, swimming, fencing, chess, Scrabble and book clubs, and so on.
More importantly for you and me, creative writing, often as day-long workshops, is also covered in many areas. Another way to access writing education is by joining a writing group in your local area. Or to encourage a writer you know to help you start one!
Learning Your Job
Market forces have spawned a new art in course-making with grants available to supplement the funding required.
Anyone wishing to undertake a vocational course is usually directed to the local polytechnic or college of further education, often as an apprentice, where recognised qualifications were available on the ‘day release’ scheme.
From the Comfort of Home
It is equally possible to learn something new without leaving home. The distance learning market has expanded, probably as a result of the Open University’s success. You can sign up at the click of your mouse, at the end of your telephone or by posting a form.
You need never stop learning. This will maintain the effectiveness of your brain and improve your social life (some distance learning courses have summer schools as part of the requirement).
Writing: Nature or Nurture?
There can be no harm in finding out the things you do not know – how to present a manuscript on A4 paper, the difference between first person and third person viewpoint etc.
Read any writing magazine or search online – there are many courses available, often at reasonable cost. The OU also has free short courses in writing.
Where Are these Courses?
The keen Later Writer will be wondering how to find the course of their dreams. I have deliberately NOT offered links or suggestions. This is a personal area of self-learning – seek and ye shall find! There’s a course that is right for you if you suss everything out. However, be careful – if the act of studying does not further your writing project(s) along or help you form a routine writing practice… is it right for YOU?
Are We All Over-Learning?
My main concern is this: are we in danger of placing too much importance on formal and informal education? Surely, there is still a valid argument for self-education through reading and experience of life.
