There are No Shortcuts

Welcome!

When I finally stopped thinking about setting up a website and decided to actually create something, my idea was to share some of what I’ve learned about, well, learning. What I am discovering as I continue to create content for minordetails is that everything that I value about learning has come from a mistake, struggle or challenge.

A story to show you what I mean …

When my husband passed away, I had to make a choice between selling his Honda CBR motorcycle or learning to ride it. I decided to learn to ride. So I signed up for the Niagara College motorcycle course.

The course description said it was suitable for beginners and I certainly was a beginner. I had never sat in the driver’s seat. I didn’t even know how to turn it on. But I had passed the written test and had driven a standard car most of my life. How difficult could it be?

The instructors were patient and thorough. Over two and a half days, they taught us every important aspect of riding a motorcycle. What they couldn’t teach us, of course, was the experience that comes from a lot of riding.

On the day of the exit test, I couldn’t successfully execute all the manoeuvers during practice. I crossed my fingers and hoped that by some miracle, I would be able to do the manoeuvers when it was my turn for the test.

I failed.

On the way home, I was angry, frustrated and ashamed that I didn’t pass. It took me a couple of days to realize that I didn’t deserve to pass! I lacked the experience, confidence and skills to be licensed as a motorcycle rider. I thought that somehow I could take a shortcut through the process. Hop on a motorcycle and be licensed in 3 days.

It was an important reminder of what I tell students every day: There Are No Shortcuts. Success comes from struggling with challenges, making mistakes and reflecting on what went wrong. Sometimes we fail over and over until we get it right. Sometimes we need to work harder at things that seem to come easily to others.

What helps is to be surrounded by people who believe in us. People who don’t expect us to be perfect, but have confidence that we are resilient and resourceful and optimistic and that we will pick ourselves up when we fail.

In the “Articles” section of minordetails, I have included the most important things I have learned from my struggles, challenges and mistakes over 20 years of working with students. I believe that learning is a journey. Whenever I think I have arrived, I realize there’s another curve that’s been just out of sight. I hope I never stop learning.

The “Blog” section is updated every week (sometimes daily). I will highlight what we’re learning together. Sometimes blog posts will be written by me. I hope more often, the entries will be written by guest student bloggers.

We’re in this learning adventure together. There will be beautiful vistas, hills to climb, missed turns and times to sit and savour what we’ve accomplished on the journey. What there won’t be are shortcuts.

I’m glad you’re on this journey with me.

PS … It took a lot of practice and some expert advice, but I passed the motorcycle test on my second attempt!