Here’s mine:

As a designer, I believe in the inherent value of original thought and social entrepreneurship. Delivering effective education in art and design is my way of contributing to incremental change and the kind of discovery that leads learners to engage their potential. Ultimately, cultivating a hunger for learning is the job of the teacher—edifying learners to assimilate existing concepts and awaken themselves to new ideas. The way that I accomplish this is by assimilating how other disciplines inspire ideas and enhance core competencies.

There are a number of channels that facilitate this pursuit including this blog, NPR, RSA (similar to TED, but older and better), Meetup.com, museums, trade associations, and, of course, books.

Take, for instance, Leonardo Da Vinci and that he was more than a painter and sculptor; his study of human anatomy led him to the “Vitruvian Man,” a seminal work that advanced understanding of the proportions of the human body and borrowed ideas from the architect, Vitruivius.  Vitruvius is most renowned for his seminal work “The Ten Books on Architecture,” which revolutionized early renaissance architecture and design philosophy.  Vitruvius was first a writer, then an architect and engineer.  Accordingly, if we were to persist in mapping the influences of these masters, the list of contributors would continue nesting ad nauseum.  It is interdisciplinary learning experiences that will cultivate the hunger to learn, dissolve silos and help shore up performance of our students, and, thus, our institutions (Basham & Mendoza, 2008; Watson, 2010, p.139).  This, I believe.

Take some time out and experience something new today.

***

Basham, M., Campbell, D., & Mendoza, P. (2008). Critical issues facing America’s community colleges: a summary of the community college futures assembly 2008. Community College Journal of Research & Practice, 32(11), 857-870.

Watson, R. (2010). Future Minds. London, UK: Nicholas Brealey Publishing.

Welcome to TheLearnShop.  Authentically wonderful experiences are precious finds.  We connect the curious with cool learning experiences.  Join the #1 conversation about lifelong learning, elevated consciousness, and personal and civic enrichment.

I have decided to use my blog contributions to chronicle some of my own lifelong learning pursuits.  Genius idea, n’est-ce pas? This was my introduction to my amazing cohort at University of Maryland-Univ College (UMUC), where I was awarded a scholarship to pursue a doctor of management degree in community college policy & administration:

I am honored to be in the company of so many passionate advocates of lifelong learning and true thought leaders.  My name is T. Rishan Tesfamichael, and I am Director of Education at The LearnShop. I  have a more unorthodox series of circumstances that led me to participate in this program.  I enrolled at Georgia Tech at 16, and spent much of my academic and professional career as an architect practicing and teaching architecture in progressively responsible roles for governement and university clients.  I have had the worthwhile opportunity to sample various education environments first as a designer, then as an instructor and leader; I spent some time teaching primary and secondary school students in French public schools and later taught at a for-profit college. I eventually returned to my alma mater to help pilot a technology-driven microeducation program at Georgia Tech’s College of Architecture as a response to budget shortfalls. The pilot began as a blended, non-credit, on-demand, social learning platform driven by students and trade associations; it evolved into a startup incubated by Georgia Tech’s Advanced Technology Development Center.  The startup concept was comparable to a community-driven Learning Annex, powered by a technology similar to Amazon.com.  The concept was later adopted by a Smithsonian affiliate museum, where we recruited a team, established a 501(c)3, and launched distribution channels tapping university partners, government agencies, and NGOs.

I joined this program because I believe that community colleges are fertile ground for ours and similar pursuits, and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to position myself to better serve learners throughout the education continuum.

I currently reside in Atlanta with my daughter.  I spend much of my free time in a nearby Barnes & Nobles, the local watering hole and ad-hoc group therapy for parents of young children. I also volunteer at Northpoint Community Church and regularly participate in educational outreach programs such as Principal For A Day, career days, and field trip sponsorships.  [I was recently introduced to a few authors that have piqued my curiosity, whomI would love to explore during the rest of my free time].  That said, I imagine the rest of my free-time will now disappear, albeit for a wholly worthy cause.

HP Learning center news
March 2010

The LearnShop is expanding the online education division! In addition to our fun, recreational learning activities such as Golf & Photoshop, you can now build your resume too! For those of you in fields that require continuing education such as:

Architecture
Interiors & Design
Bridge & Roadway
Business, Professional Development & Soft Skills
Chemical, Petroleum & Nuclear
Civil & Structural
Codes, ADA, Board Laws & Rules
Construction & Trades
Electrical
Enviromental, Landscape & Flood
Legal, Insurance & Risk
Mechanical & HVAC
Project Management
Safety
Surveying & Geomatic
Sustainable/Green Design
Water, Wastewater & Stormwater

Better yet, if you have an instructorship with us, continuing education is included! Ask us for more information at http://www.thelearnshop.org/contact