Activity 1.3 Metaphor for Learning

Learning is like a hike in the Cascade Mountains; it’s a great adventure.  The landscape is diverse and there are many paths to take.  One begins the journey with an expectation of what will be learned, but along the way you happen upon many unexpected pleasures and struggles.  Occasionally you must rethink your choices and maybe even double back to take a different path.  At other times you round a corner and there is an unexpected panoramic vista that is breathtaking; and you suddenly know just where you are, and just where you’ve been.  In some instances an effective guide accompanies you on your journey and shares with you the wisdom they have garnered on their personal journey, information about the landscape and directions for navigation.  In others, you must go it alone and discern what works best for you.  There is often a goal for your learning, the pinnacle at the top that you strive to obtain.  When you finally arrive at your destination you have a chain of memories, a sense of accomplishment, and you know that you have achieved a worthwhile goal that will be yours forever. You are satisfied and confident that you are where you want to be.  You pause and reflect whilst you sit and eat and drink.  You stand on the peak, look around, and realize that there are so many mountains yet to be climbed, so many things yet to be learned.  Your body nourished, you rise for the next journey.