Working Parents Going Back to School is Hope for the Future  

One of the global competencies that we need to develop in ourselves in order to flourish is lifelong learning. Learning doesn’t stop when you leave school. Lifelong learning is essential to lead stimulating, fulfilling lives. 

As Leonardo Da Vinci famously wrote in his notebooks: 

Iron rusts from disuse, stagnant water loses its purity, and in cold weather becomes frozen; even so does inaction sap the vigors of the mind. 

Surely one of the greatest investments you can make is to keep improving your mind, to keep upskilling. Not only does this keep you eligible on the job market, but it also keeps you sharp and responsive to the world around you. Even at a socio-emotional level, learning something new is an engaging, uplifting experience. Perhaps as we get older, we appreciate what a privilege it is to learn. This could explain why adult students often have higher levels of motivation than children: they have chosen to study, know what it is they wish to get out of the experience, and can relate to the added value the experience brings. 

When you are a working parent, you’ve got too much on your plate to find the time to pursue an extra degree, or so some think. However, I believe this is a misleading notion. Paradoxically, the less you do, the more exhausted you become and the more time you spend on those tasks and chores that don’t inspire you. If you carve out time to study, despite all of the exigencies of work, you find yourself more energized and creative in your thinking since you have created many more mental connections, given yourself a break from the routine. At the core of it, you are driven by a desire to accomplish your degree, which gives you an extra sense of purpose. 

So, to all the working parents out there earning degrees, perhaps with University of the People, or simply learning something new every day and committing to the wonderful project of lifelong learning: keep going! Only good will come of it.