Bill Clinton Embraces Lifelong Learning

The GearyPMG team was fortunate enough to be part of a lucky few, thousand that is, who were able to hear former President Bill Clinton speak at the Career College Association’s Annual Convention in Las Vegas.

Clinton didn’t disappoint; and was dynamic and articulate. He touched on many “big picture” topics, namely advancements that we were fortunate enough to witness in our time: the mapping of the human genome, space travel and exploration, cell research, and other profound innovations in biology, physics, and our favorite, technology. As he highlighted those benchmarks of achievement, he underscored the importance of each person, regardless of age or background, being committed to lifelong learning.

Lifelong learning, to me, is the concept that each of us follow our passions, and realize that we are evolving every second, and with that, we need to augment our knowledge base and skill-set whenever the need arises. Traditionally, education is punctuated by completion dates: high school graduation, throwing your cap in the air at college graduation, and finally, for a segment of the populous, earning that master’s or doctorate degree. Clinton inspired us to blur those hard lines, and instead embrace the idea of education being a lifelong commitment. This could mean a stay-at-home mother taking an online class in childhood education to better understand her children or a retiree going on campus to Berkeley because he is curious about poetry.

On a more granular level, Former Vice President Al Gore also addressed the topic of global advancements and how they will change the face of our nation’s education landscape. When he spoke at the EduRG conference in Phoenix a few months ago, he honed in on how technology, and specifically the relatively nascent online education space, has erased barriers to education. Geography, age, and socioeconomic background, no longer impede getting an education.

Now, soldiers in the desert can attend classes from their laptops in tents and a farmer in the wilds of Montana can be in the same virtual classroom as an executive in Manhattan.

At PMG we are admittedly technophiles! It was inspirational to hear these two visionaries address how advances in technology will blur lines and erase barriers to learning.

-John McKusick, Co-Founder GearyPMG