I've spent more than 20 years working in education, coaching, and communication, and one thing I've learned is that adults rarely come into a learning environment without already having something valuable to contribute.
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| Citizenship Class, Miami Dade North Campus, circa 2010 |
Throughout my career, I've had opportunities to see this from different perspectives. As a student success coach at Miami Dade College, I worked with first-generation college students, refugees and asylum seekers, and adults of all ages navigating housing and food insecurity, mental health challenges, and other circumstances that made pursuing an education particularly difficult.
As a workforce development education specialist at Congreso de Latinos Unidos, I worked with adults seeking to break cycles of generational poverty, develop new skills, and create opportunities for greater economic independence.
As a partnership coordinator with the New Mexico Supreme Court's Administrative Office of the Courts, my work focused on expanding access to justice for people from underserved and disenfranchised communities.
These experiences helped shape my understanding of adult learning and the role education can play during periods of transition.
I've always been drawn to adult learning philosophy, particularly the work of Malcolm Knowles, who emphasized experience, self-direction, and the practical application of learning.
When someone is navigating a major life transition, whether it's changing careers, returning to school, entering the workforce, or starting over after difficult circumstances, it's easy to focus on what they don't have. The degree they haven't earned. The experience they're missing. The skills they still need to develop.
But what about everything they've already learned along the way?
I've worked with adults from different backgrounds, and I've seen how much can change when someone begins to recognize the value of their own experiences.
I believe our responsibility as educators and coaches is to meet people where they are, recognize their strengths, and help them develop the knowledge and skills they need to move forward.
People don't have to start from scratch just because they're starting something new.
That's a philosophy I want to carry into everything we do at Brianopolis Learning.
#AdultLearning #AdultEducation #WorkforceDevelopment #LifelongLearning #BrianopolisLearning
