The juggler

In the name of Allah most gracious most merciful.

 

1 May 2015.
Educating adults is by far the most exciting space to be in when individuals decide to continue with their studies or start a new course – stepping on the journey to the valley of amazement. The experiences that adults bring to the classroom, enrich the learning journeys of everyone including the lecturer or facilitator of learning. It has enriched my education in so many ways learning both from young adults as well as adults with more life experience, that should I make a map of it, my khoki would run dry.
In the learning arena, theoretical concepts are grappled with and made meaning of as it offered and the depth of it increases many times enriched it in its appropriation. Abu often talks about adults as being constructive repositories of knowledge; producers of knowledge; reproducers of knowledge and transmitters of knowledge at some stage of their lives or the other.

The most challenging part to be an adult learner is struggling to give the haq of your path of learning while straddling responsibilities at home (cleaning, cooking, shopping; homework help chauffeuring; taking care of a parent, feeding and caring for cats, dogs, budgies, weeding and watering and sowing and harvesting etc); responsibilities to family and in laws, neighbours and friends; responsibilities at work/school (reports, lesson plans, marking, assessing, evaluating, meetings); social responsibilities such as  part time classes; mosque; parents meetings, civic meetings, environmental initiatives etc; responsibilities to yourself – your health, state of mind; fitness; and just time to bum around.

 

Then there is spiritual time and entertainment time and that very important time you have to spend with each and every child – watching Mocking Jay or listening to a recital or shouting yay to an when an arrow hits the bulls eye or just talking about the changes in their bodies. The adult educator neglects sometimes the most important time spent; on your personal relationship with spouse/partner. If you can see that visually in a kind of juggling fashion it’s a lot to contend with without support from spouse, family and friends.

I know this because as much as I am an adult educator I am a learner too with many many responsibilities sometimes peering down that precipice thinking how the heck am I doing justice to everything, something’s gotta give. The first thing that gives is that Course we enjoy the most; a diploma or certificate course; Masters; Doctorate. Courses formal or non-formal because when we rationalise, we think that we can do it later, next year or sometime in the future.

Here’s the thing. With all of that responsibilities it’s never the right time or the wrong time. Because we are always pinning something on the board that is more important, has higher priority. What we are doing, no matter how important to our personal development - it can wait for later. When you feel stuck and about to leave that class/course/degree because you think you can’t cope – speak to someone to gain better perspective. I have been there many times in my life and my lecturers and supervisors, Alhamdulilah always found time to meet me for coffee and assist me to reorganise, reprioritise and negotiate my time with my family. Thank you Linda and Salma.

And most importantly I need to say shukran to my children wherever they are in the world today, who have given me support – cooked and cleaned and looked after the babies sometimes sitting in the room next to my lecture theatre between nursing feeds, picking me up after class and so many more things that made it possible for my continuing/ lifelong education.

 

To my Abubakr who has been the most inspirational/motivational husband a studying girl can have. Thank you for listening;  helping me unpack difficult theorists such as Bourdieu and Spivak and the rest; fetching me from campus with a picnic basket; putting your studies aside for me to move forward; midnight picnics, reading my stories, bunches of flowers, buying me beautiful dresses and new shoes (cos I hate shopping) etc. My co conspirator; co creator of materials and co lecturer from Cape Town to Durban, from Johannesburg to Andriesvale in the Kalahari, from Pretoria to Khartoum.

 

There is neither change nor power except by means of Allah.

There is no transformation or strength except through Allah.

There is neither progress nor ability except through Allah.

 

We are because of others.

Plant food and continue to learn.

Yasmine