Education 2017

School and Work
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Apart from a brief,unsuccessful attempt, soon after being diagnosed, at doing history via a correspondence course my education stopped after the first admission to hospital.

Three things have prevented me going back despite mental health staff pushing the idea on a few occasions (1) quite severe social anxiety (2) Navigating myself around (3) probable , though undiagnosed , learning difficulties .

With (3) My school performance had suffered because of it, and I could see the same thing happening going to college unless I got recognition for it and help. I knew that without proper support I’d struggle and fail miserably.

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Perhaps should have added (4) paranoia due to past bullying.

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Well, the short recipe for a successful learning experience is:

  1. you like the topic you want to learn about
  2. you choose the learning method most suited to your case (personality, financial resources, age)
  3. you go at your own pace

So let’s assume you wish to enhance your history knowledge.

  1. Do you like history? Well, history is a broad field. You could be interested in something more specific, such as: British history, or global Antiquity, or European Middle Ages, or the history of a certain religion, or the history of animal domestication etc.
    Pick a narrower field first.
  2. You are 60, your mind has slowed down a little bit. You struggle with social anxiety, you don’t have much pocket money either. Based on the aforementioned considerations, my guess is that you should simply try reading online articles and watching online videos from the comfort of your own home.
  3. Start slow, so as not to get burnt out or bored too fast. Then gradually pick up the pace if you feel capable.

Good luck :slight_smile:

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Aims zimmer at cheeky Andrey’s head. :wink:

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I guess it would be modern history 1789 onwards.

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I have applied to study a diploma of library and information services in 2018 part time.

I sat the literacy and numeracy tests on the weekend and don’t have the results yet. I’m only hoping that I passed. I’m not confident. They were difficult.

I hope to get accepted but I worry about my ability to return to the classroom at 36. And juggle part time study with part time work.

Hopefully I enjoy it and adapt easily to the environment.

I’m thinking ahead though. I must first be accepted.

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@anon84763962 I wish you success with that.

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Thank you @firemonkey I really appreciate that.

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That is still quite an overwhelming challenge. Off the top of my head I could break it down into:
-political reforms (French revolution, Napoleon civil code, French republic and its presidents. American constitution. Russian Bolshevik revolution, the rise of communism, with the Russian one vs. the Chinese one having different flavours. Decline of colonial powers and emergence of brand new states. Abolition of slavery. Women’s rights. Bourgeoisie and working class and declining nobility. Federalization. Etc.)
-scientific and technological advances (Ink pencils. Steam powered mechanisms. Electricity. Oil based automotive industry. Airplanes. Space rockets, satellites. Vaccines, antibiotics, aspirine, antipsychotics lol. Theory of relativity, quantum physics. Radio and television. Cybernetics, computers, telephones, printers. Refrigerators, microwave ovens, washing machines. New materials: plastic, kevlar, nylon. Atomic weapons. Etc.)
-artistic movements (late classicism, romanticism, naturalism, impressionism, cubism, expressionism, art deco, jazz, blues, rock&roll, heavy metal, hip hop, reggae, Sci-Fi literature etc)
-wars (civil wars in Italy, USA, etc. Continental wars in North America, Europe, Asia, Middle East. Two worldwide conflagrations. The Cold War. The silent cyber war between hacker factions.).
-globalization (English as international lingua franca for business and not only. European Union, United Nations, UNESCO, UNICEF, Red Cross, Red Crescent, Interpol, NATO. Nobel prizes. Immigration policies, Green visa, multiple citizenship. Etc.)
-diplomacy
-secret services
-new health concerns (HIV, Ebola, Bird flu)
-new demographic and ecological concerns (greenhouse effect, overcrowding, wild life extinction, deforestation, marine life perturbations, desertification).

So, which one tickles your fancy ? :slight_smile:

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I think political history.

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Cool man.

I think you might also want to look for places where you can share knowledge and information with people who have the same interest. Forums, chat rooms, twitter or facebook pages…
Unity makes strength :wink:
Communication is key :wink:
Another day, another dollar :wink:

Ok I’ll stop now.

(:wink:)