After a period of belated wildness in London, where I had moved to study for a PGCE, I soon tired of having no challenge and applied to teach in Inner London. If I had sought a challenge, I could have found no better job! Here I was, employed to teach modern languages in what many called ‘sink’ schools, more politely known as those in areas of social priority, to children who resented the recent raising of the school leaving age to 16, and with many colleagues who had long surrendered to the overwhelming difficulties we faced daily.
I was confronted by the impact of hostile regimes, as history was charted by the ethnic groups who arrived as refugees; I discovered the unimaginable responsibilities placed on the shoulders of young children ( I vividly remember one of my tutor group, then around 13, brushing off his role in assisting at the delivery of the latest of his numerous siblings as if it were no less natural than helping with the dishes); as form tutor and Head of Department, I led groups abroad and to the ILEA’s residential annex in Surrey, inducting teenagers into the ways of sitting at table and even using cutlery, all so different from my esoteric past. This was my making: I rose to the challenge, and embarked on a teaching career which would take me to deputy headship within 15 years. Throughout this and subsequent periods, I continued my lifelong learning, accumulating postgraduate degrees and diplomas. Certainly more street wise, I was nevertheless far from the lifewide learners I see amongst many of today’s students. All my leisure activities were academic and insular. My personal dispositions and chronic mental ill health prevented me from enjoying the benefits of diverse interests and companionship. So how did I come to be the lifewide learner I believe myself now to be? Quite simply, as my partner Yoga would say, my breakdown was a breakthrough. |
Despite the odds, I survived a serious suicide attempt. This was followed by my meeting Yoga, who has been my partner for nearly twenty years, and with whom I have learnt to become a better and more rounded person.
Secure in our personal relationship, I finally undertook the PhD I had always desired, now on a theme which was far from self-indulgent, crossing as it did socio-linguistic, political and many other disciplines. I simultaneously taught for the Open University, learning more from the inspiring students I met than I could ever have taught them. I also worked as a University administrator for some years during and after my doctoral studies. The position brought me tantalisingly close to students and academia, but it was only when I met three key figures that I at last, and in my fifties, found the self-fulfilment of academic research. The first person to whom I am indebted is the then Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Professor David Airey, who had recognised my abilities, and commissioned me to do ‘a real job’, as part of the team who wrote the successful bid for government sponsorship which led to the creation of SCEPTrE. Next, Professor Neil Ward, Director of Professional Training, enabled me to overstep the boundaries of my formal role and engage in research which would lead to my receiving a Fellowship in the Surrey Centre of Excellence for Professional Training and Education (SCEPTrE.) Finally, I am eternally grateful to Professor Norman Jackson, Director of SCEPTrE. Not only did he have the vision and courage to straddle the academic/ administrative divide that my fellowship represented, but he would later come to my rescue when financial cuts led to my being made redundant from my university position. I was in danger of again slipping into depression when he contracted me to undertake a series of research projects relating to such themes as lifewide learning, creativity and professional development. Through these combined opportunities, I enjoyed several rewarding years working as the academic I could and should have been. |
In the space of a few years, I had a prolific output of research, publications and presentations, many of which can be viewed and downloaded from SCEPTrE.
Creativity
http://surreycreativeacademy.pbworks.com/w/page/11481691/FrontPage
Professional training
http://surreyprofessionaltraining.pbworks.com/w/page/11505906/FrontPage
Professional capability
http://professionalcapability.pbworks.com/w/page/37136050/FrontPage
Fellowship research
http://sceptrefellows.pbworks.com/w/page/6835971/Jenny%20Willis
Creativity
http://surreycreativeacademy.pbworks.com/w/page/11481691/FrontPage
Professional training
http://surreyprofessionaltraining.pbworks.com/w/page/11505906/FrontPage
Professional capability
http://professionalcapability.pbworks.com/w/page/37136050/FrontPage
Fellowship research
http://sceptrefellows.pbworks.com/w/page/6835971/Jenny%20Willis
Lifewide Learning
I am also proud of the part I have played in the production of two recent books editred by Norman Jackson. Both demonstrate the power of individuals working together to realise a shared idea.
Learning for a Complex World can be purchased on line or in hard copy.
Its predecessor can be read on line by clicking on this linbk: Learning to be Professional through a Higher Education Surrey Centre for Excellence in Professional Training and Education (SCEPTrE).
Lifewide Education Network
Thanks to Norman's tenacity and our shared belief in the importance of lifewide learning, our work continues through the Lifewide Education Network, established by him and launched in November 2010.
It is exciting to be involved in the promotion of a potentially 'explosive' (Professor Ron Barnett, 2011) idea. The initiative draws on the expertise and experience of a broad range of people; it provides an intellectual and creative outlet and, as editor of the magazine, I have had to learn many new skills. the magazine can be downloaded from our website, at http://lifewideeducation.co.uk/.