Get on Course
| | | | Irish Examiner Article by Kate Hayes | | | If June spells exams and summer holidays then September undoubtedly is synonymous with the return to the classroom but it's not just school children and college students who are packing their rucksacks, adults too are rushing back to education each year. Yes, it's that time of year again when centres and colleges around the country throw open their doors and offer evening classes in everything from flower arranging to Tae Kwon Do and this year there is an even wider range of choices than ever.
According to Work and Organisational Psychologist Allison Keating, September is like January in many respects with night classes having an aspirational quality similar to those of New Year's resolutions. 'Summer, with many people going on holidays, is a time that lacks structure, so September is usually when people try to get back into a routine. It's a case of when the kids go back to school so do the adults,' she says.
And, it seems adults have certainly been heading back in their droves. Since first gaining interest in the 1970's the popularity of night courses in this country has been growing steadily and it's now estimated that between 260,000 and 300,000 people attend classes each year.
Kevin Brannigan, Managing Director of nightcourses.com, attributes this increase to our recent economic growth, 'as the economy has improved people have a lot more interest in life long learning and bettering themselves'. Add to this the advancement in education over the last four decades and you have a scenario whereby the more educated we become, the more we appreciate educational development. 'In 1977 there was only one adult education class on computers in this country, now there are thousands' points out Seamus Cashman, author of A Guide to Evening Classes 2007/8.
Flick through any of the numerous night class guides and you will find everything from flamenco to farm accounting (yes, such a course does exist) but don't be lead astray by the range on offer, remember the course you choose is dependent on what you want to gain from it.
For some people a night course can serve as a means of enhancing their career prospects, courses in business and IT particularly tap into that area. For others the aim might be to socialise or de-stress. 'Work is about structure,' according to Keating "but adults also need some time off. People need to say to themselves 'I deserve to take an hour for myself.'"
Mothers are especially prone to this attitude. As Keating stresses, how often do parents encourage their children to learn new skills yet often don't follow through on this advice themselves?
Stay at home Mums especially, now that the children have gone back to school, can often find their self-esteem slipping but a new hobby or pursuit can provide them with the encouragement and confidence that they need. Not to mention, that by taking up an evening class and sticking to it, parents are not just benefiting themselves but it is also a 'good discipline to show their children.'
Ah, yes 'discipline'! Here's where that age-old problem raises its head: choosing the course is easy; sticking to it is a completely different matter. As the nights become darker and the weather worsens, it becomes more and more tempting just to give the classes a miss. Author Seamus Cashman acknowledges there is a drop-off rate as a course progresses but nothing as huge as we might expect he says. The simple reason that when you have paid for something in advance you tend to stick at longer seems to still hold through in many cases.
Of course, that's not to say it is always easy to juggle career, family and life with a new interest. Allison Keating stresses that 'People should think about the support system they have when trying to make time for a weekly class. Many courses are often only 10 weeks in length so it is possible to have a babysitter mind the kids one week, a family member the next week and so on, some forward planning is what's required.'
Night courses popularity tend to reflect the mood of the time, just as computers became huge in the late 80's and early 90's, today the real growth area is health and well-being. Everything from yoga to nutrition, hypnotherapy to dream analysis falls under this category, with classes on life coaching seeing a particular surge in popularity as people focus on how to cope in an increasingly hectic world.
'Just as people might join a gym for their physical health, joining a night course helps to benefit you mentally' so says Seamus Cashman. This is certainly a view shared by retired primary teacher Monica Cadden who says she adores 'the freedom attached to such courses'.
The former teacher from Clontarf has taken part in no less than 29 different courses through the UCD Adult Learning Centre since her retirement in 2001 and it seems she has no intention of stopping there. This autumn Monica hopes to do a course on English literature, an area that Monica has great interest in: 'What I'm really interested in is history and literature. I've done previous courses in both of these before as well as in creativity.'
At one point in fact Monica was doing four courses at the one time - two on weekdays and another two at night. The history night class, she remembers, featured a large amount of men, young and old, whereas the morning literature class was a mix of older people and young mothers.
While she may have more time than most to pursue classes, Monica is well aware of how difficult it can be for those working to pursue their interests. 'I took the courses up when I was retired otherwise I wouldn't have had half as much time to do them. When I was working as a primary teacher I wasn't keen to go to night classes as I had to be up early in the
morning' she admits.
Now, however, it's a different story and she has nothing but praise for the classes she has done thus far. 'I've gotten a huge amount out of them, not only are they immensely enjoyable but you also meet other people that are like-minded and they open up different aspects of life to you.'
In fact Monica and her other fellow students showed such interest in one particular literature course that their teacher nicknamed the group the 'Viragos' after the top publishing house which had published so many of the texts on the course syllabus.
As a former teacher, who had spent her career in the classroom, returning to such a setting may not have been as daunting an experience for Monica as it might have been for most. According to Kevin Brannigan of nightcourses.com this initial return to learning can be very difficult for some as it poses unique challenges they would not be used to facing day-to-day in work. 'The fear of not being able to keep up, discourages a lot of people' he states 'but teachers are trained in certain techniques to keep people involved and the atmosphere informal.'
Psychologist Allison Keating agrees, she often encourages clients of hers to take up a new interest or pursuit. 'Adults, unlike children, often don't get enough praise or encouragement but a new hobby is good for your confidence and a great way of challenging yourself. People should push themselves more.' So what are you waiting for?
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