Education comes in many flavors.  I suspect most people think of elementary, junior high, and high school education, perhaps followed by college.  What’s commonly called “formal education.”  Technical training fills a questionable area, because most purists believe there’s a difference between training and education.  With my advanced degree in Adult Education, there’s a whole range of discussion that can take place with just those two words.

There are a lot of educational philosophies, and each one has some merit, if used in the right situation.  Because of that, I espouse an eclectic approach to educational philosophy. Because, in my opinion, the purpose is to learn the material.  To do that, one should use the most effective method for the person and the situation at hand.  I believe learning styles are important — different people learn more effectively in different ways.  If the material they have to learn can be presented in the way most effective for them, that’s ideal.

The most important thing to me is for people to realize learning is a lifelong activity; therefore, education is an ongoing endeavor.