A Life-Long Learner 5/2025

Why do I teach?

My passion is in life is teaching. I love helping others learn, grow, and succeed. My goal in teaching, in whatever format, whether it's parenting, teaching a classroom, tutoring, homeschooling, or whatever it may be, is to instill skills that help that person become a life-long learner who is independent and motivated. Teaching a child to read is great, but teaching a child that reading is the key to success and how to use that skill is priceless. 

What does it mean to be a life-long learner?

A life-long learner is someone who strives to continue learning. This is a person who is not stagnant in their abilities and knowledge. In every area of our lives, improvement requires growth and progress. Learning does not just mean learning to read and write. Learning is the process by which we progress. A life-long learner is someone who does not remain content with where they are. A life-long learner is someone who strives to do better in all areas of their lives. 

How do we motivate children to be life-long learners?

Now here's the hard part. Being a life-long learner is a personal view. We are talking about intrinsic motivation to learn and enjoy the process of learning. We cannot give that to anyone, they need to build it for themselves. We can help our children and students build the skills necessary to be a self-driven life-long learner.

1. Be a life-long learner yourself

As both teachers and parents, the best thing we can do to teach is to lead by example. The best way to teach others to become life-long learners is to become one yourself. Even as adults there are ways to continue learning and growing. This summer, I am teaching myself about gardening. I have not done much gardening before and I am growing my plants from seed this year. I've had to research about gardening and my area to make this successful and I am still learning through trial and error. Children learn best by example. When we show children we are motivated to learn and improve, we teach them to value that in themselves. 

2. Mistakes are not failure

The biggest deterrent to self improvement is failure. Oftentimes, the fear of making a mistake can make us back out of trying something new. It's a natural response, but nobody can get better without facing the fear of possible failure. Students in the classroom may be afraid to try hard in their assignments because if they try hard and make mistakes then they failed. If they don't try hard they can justify their mistakes with their lack of effort. As I have been teaching myself to garden this year, I have had plenty of errors. I had many seeds that wouldn't start and I've struggled  growing my spinach and lettuce. While some of those plants failed this year, I know what I am going to change and try next year. Personally, I believe success is not so much about perfection, but in moving forward. As adults, we can point out our own mistakes and teach children to be comfortable with mistakes as a part of learning.

A successful person is someone who always tries their best and values improvement. I do not believe life-long learning applies only to academics. I consider this mentality valuable in all areas of our lives, at home, at work, in hobbies, and in school. I value continuing to improving my health, parenting, gardening, cooking, faith, and teaching. This requires uphill growth. 

Here is an activity for you and your child:

Talk to your child about what it means to YOU to be a life-long learner. Talk about ways you want to continue learning and growing. Make a list together of what you each want to improve in and help each other reach your goals. Remember, while your child may have an academic goal, they may also have a goal to get better at a sport or learn a skill. This can be just as valuable! I would encourage goals in all areas!