Destination:
Education!
by
Karen McElroy, PP, PLS
Chair – NALS Education Committee
Most
of my family and friends love to travel – it’s
exciting to go somewhere for the first time to explore
new sights, make new friends, and then anticipate future
vacations to recapture the experience. Before my vacations
even begin, I pick up a traveling book or magazine to
learn more about these new places so that I am more prepared
and can get the most out of my traveling experience.
It seems to me that vacations or traveling expeditions
end too soon and, even though I always have a wonderful
time, I feel the desire to return to complete the adventure
and learn more. Even though I am unable to vacation or
travel as much as I’d like, these captured moments
are just a few snapshots of my life.
Education
has always been an on-going aspect of my journey throughout
life. And, although my daily life experiences never seem
as fascinating as my adventures while vacationing, it
still portrays a complete life of valuable educational
experiences. The pursuit of structured education to maximize
our potential in our legal careers is yet another step
or level that we can be challenged to undertake.
“The
best purpose of education: not to be frightened by
the best but to treat it as part of daily life.”
- John Mason Brown (1900-1969)
Dale
Smith Thomas shared her personal journey with us in Tulsa
and explained how powerful our words can be. Dale explained
how we can make choices to be positive or negative simply
by the words we use in our daily lives. She gave us several
examples (i.e., This job is driving me crazy! I’m
so overwhelmed by head is about to explode!) and asked
us to think about the power of the words and about how
we’d feel if our words actually came true. While
listening to Dale, I began recalling some comments I’ve
heard along the way from others with respect to education
and career advancement: “I don’t need to
learn anything new. I know everything I need to know.”
Or, “It’s who you know, not what you know.”
Sorry Dale, but these words make my blood boil! We are
given opportunities each day of our existence, and if we
have negative, close-minded attitudes, the doors won’t
stay open for long and you will have missed the boat! But
when that door opens, whether it is because you know someone
on the inside or you’ve got your foot wedged in the
door-jam, it is bound to snap shut and kick you out if
you haven’t challenged yourself by continuing your
education to learn more to do your best. When you reach
your destination, be prepared with education!
This
year the NALS Education Committee will once again offer
opportunities to continue your education in the On-Line
Study Group (which will be geared to all three certifications:
the ALS, PLS and PP exams), and the On-Line Learning
Center. These chats are a great forum for students and
anyone interested in CLE credits for recertification,
or simply to learn something new! The schedules for 2006-07
have been posted to the NALS website. Begin your educational
journey today!
