No End to Education

 There is no end to education. It is not that you read a book, pass an examination, and finish with education. The whole of life, from the moment you are born to the moment you die, is a process of learning.

Jiddu Krishnamurtri

As I listened to Michal Singer's podcast this morning, I was a bit distracted.  I have been lightly pondering if I should pursue a Masters in Education thesis ( Adult Ed) and ideas were coming to me as he spoke. 

What? How did that come up, crazy lady? 

I have many years of accumulated university credits (about 8 and a half  to nine years worth) and if we were to add in the diplomas and certificates I have earned that can not be directly credited to Canadian Universities, I have about 12 years worth of formal education. Twelve years is a lot of time spent in the post secondary learning environment, is it not?  But, here is the crux of it all:  I only have one degree. So, on paper I am not all that educated. 

 As someone who simply loves learning, I never "planned" my learning experiences well enough to ensure a certain outcome.  I just wanted to learn.  I would see this course or that course and say, "Man that would be interesting." and I would take it. I would  have this idea or that idea about some little project I could add to my life: counselling, photography, fitness leadership, creative and academic writing, writing for children, teaching English as a second language, Yoga teaching, public speaking, Meditation teaching, and becoming a "Positive Psychology Practitioner" (whatever  the heck that is), and I would take the courses needed,  accumulating credits and what not. I told myself, "Someday.  Maybe I will wrap up what I can from all this learning with  a pretty bow of some type of degree or degrees."  My learning was seldom done for the outcome of getting a degree.

I mean, I did start taking graduate courses years ago, when I was still working at the college, in the hope of getting a Masters in Adult Education. Life, however, pulled me away from that (and my job), in the way that Life sometimes does when she has other plans for us. I found myself pulled away from outcome focus and into a situation that allowed me to enjoy learning what I could simply for the joy of learning.  Regardless, here I am with years of formal education, not to mention even more years of accumulated  informal learning. (I probably have reference notes tucked away from over 3000 books I have dissected over the years, for example.  The learning from these books  has become a part of my accumulated learning.)  I truly am a very self directed, life-long learner with so much learning to share. On paper, however, unless one asks for my transcripts, diplomas and certificates on top of my degrees, I do not appear  educated enough to share much beyond my degree focus.  Ego doesn't like that!

So though the greater part of me, that I am becoming more and more in tune with, doesn't need that social or professional recognition, doesn't need to wrap itself up in a bow with a Latin tag, Ego still cries out to be recognized. Ego has been getting a bit antsy  in this new little job venture I have taken on.  The greater part of me has taken it on for higher reasons: to serve, to share what I have, to connect with people, for the challenge, and for the learning and growth a new experience offers. I know I am and can do a great job but ego is squirming in the background saying, "We need to prove ourselves here on paper.  We need some type of specific paperwork that says we are qualified for this. I don't like this feeling of 'not being enough'. Make it go away! " 

How does my mind tell me to make it go away? "Get that bow with the Latin tag."

So to appease Ego, I looked into at least getting a second undergrad. I have enough credits for a BA but in my role, Ego assures me, I need something with "education" in the title. I have a certificate in Adult Ed and graduate courses in Adult Ed...as well as twenty years experience in Adult Ed...surely I could finish my BEd  with another course or two, at the most. Another course or two was doable. So, I checked out that route, only to find out that they cannot accept my graduate courses, nor PLAR me for more than six credits. I would therefore need to take another 18 credit hours...a realization my mind, my age, and my pockets, just did not seem ready to accept for another undergrad.  

"Now what??!!" Ego hisses. "What are we going to do now? We have to make this feeling of appearing 'not enough' go away!"

What could I do that would give me a piece of paper that tied up all my learning  with one pretty bow while proving to others that I was indeed qualified to call myself an "educator";  enough, at least, to make ego shut up; and that was also not too time consuming or expensive for me at this age? 

Then it dawned on me.  I could write a thesis paper. I could write 100 pages on adult learning, couldn't I?  After all, I had a very abnormal learning journey. That must be worth something.  I could even incorporate my major learning into a paper about how adults can learn theoretically and experientially  through understanding the basic philosophies of Yoga....maybe how we should "not be so attached to the Fruits of action" that we fail to  seek learning for learning's sake, as I have done. Hmm! So many ideas were coming to me as Michael Singer spoke this morning. So, though it is still just a possibility and a "what if", I am now looking into writing a Master's Thesis. 

Will it be time consuming?  Not necessarily for me. Researching the right types of academic papers etc may take time but writing 100 pages...no sweat. Not that I particularly like writing education papers (end up with more words inside brackets at the end of each sentence than you do actual written text) but I could do it. I love writing.

Expensive? Yeah, education is expensive. Especially graduate level education...but thesis work has to be less expensive than course, doesn't it? This could prove to be a very expensive endeavour that is apparently beyond my financial ability right now, but the light shines on this: Apparently the government will sometimes help support a Master's thesis?  I can look into that option anyway.

If I were to put all that expense, time, effort into getting a degree, would it really satisfy Ego? No, I know better.  Ego, by nature, cannot and will not be satisfied for long. A piece of paper is not going to make me a better educator and it is not going to make me happy.  Nothing out there can do that!  If I do this for the soul reason of satisfying ego, I will be setting myself up for suffering. Maybe, just maybe, though...Life and Greater Me wants this for other reasons. Maybe it could prove to be a means of validating and publishing learning that will benefit others.  I don't know.

At this point, I am just thinking and questioning, as I look into this possibility. I have no idea if Life will pull me towards this, or if, for whatever reason, She will pull me away. Either way, it is all good.

All is well in my world. 

Michael A. Singer/ Temple of the Universe ( Thursday, April 11, 2024) Witness Consciousness-Returning to the One that sees. https://tou.org/talk