Who am I as an Adult Learner?

Janet Wong
10035506
EDUC 455

As a student who has been in school since the age of 3, I have been learning for 20 years.
Throughout the years, there are so many different learning and teaching dynamics that I have
encountered. I have been the student, I have been the instructor and there have been instances
where I am seen as both. As an adult learner, I have encountered all the situations listed above. It
is through these experiences that I have learned who I am as a person, what my goals are and
how I handle different power relationships in my life. Groen & Kawalilak (2014) mention the
different aspects of becoming an adult learner as well as how our past affects us and I truly
believe that our experiences help shape who we are today.
I grew up in a traditional Chinese family; there were pressures of becoming a doctor,
dentist, businessman or a lawyer when you get older. These were the professions that were
deemed acceptable. Throughout primary and middle school, I unknowingly allowed myself to
believe that as well. I never thought about pursuing any other careers. I remember very distinctly
back in grade 12 when we were all discussing our options the following year. I had asked one of
my classmates where he was headed and he said SAIT to be a mechanic. I was shocked. I never
even considered not attending a university. It did not help that the high school I attended was
very academic and all of our teachers encouraged us to go to university. I thought he was crazy
for attending SAIT and no pursuing a professional career path. At the time, I did not realize that
there were other options. I planned on going to the University of Western Ontario for their
business program along with a few other classmates. University was an anticipated transition for
me. (Groen & Kawalilak, 2014, p. 44) As far as I knew, this was the right path for me because
my parents approved of my choices. I did not have a clue as to what my personal identity was.
Throughout my first year of university, I was forced to be independent and make choices
on my own as my parents were back in Calgary. It was through this independence that I was able

to start figuring out my identity, informally (Groen & Kawalilak, 2014, p.17). This was also the
year where I started to think about teaching as a career. I worked at Mini University summer
camps through the University of Calgary. That summer I was an instructor as well as a camp
leader. This experience piqued my interest for teaching. It was the first experience I had where I
was responsible for a group of children. I had experience working with children in the past at
martial arts but there was always an individual who had more authority than me, therefore they
acted as a safety net if anything were to go wrong. At the camp, I did have a supervisor but I did
not have unlimited access to them all day. There were incidences where I would have to use my
judgment to decide what was right and what was wrong. It was through these unfamiliar,
informal situations where I was able to grow the most. I had to be accountable for the decisions
that I made whether they were right or wrong. During that year, I found that I attained the most
personal growth as I was constantly pushed out of my comfort zone when I encountered
unfamiliar experiences.
Another aspect that I found that really influences me, as an adult learner is goal setting. I
find this to be unique to adult learning because as adults we are more aware as to what we are
capable of. We know how far to push ourselves so that our goals are challenging. I recently
started a job at lululemon athletica (lululemon) and as a part of the stores performance each
employee has to set personal, career and health goals for the next 1, 5 and 10 years 1. Capra (as
cited in Groen & Kawalilak, 2014) stated the success of the whole community depends on the
success of its individual members, while the success of each member depends on the success of
the community as a whole and lululemon firmly believes in that. I did not realize how big of an
impact it would have on me as a person. After setting and submitting my goals, I am now
accountable for them with my peers therefore I have to actively work towards them. I am so
1 Goals can be found in Appendix 1.

much more mindful to everything I do as I want to achieve my goals by the dates that I have set.
I am continuing to learn what challenges me as a person and what scares me. For example, I have
always wanted to teach abroad and when I heard about the Teaching Across Borders (TAB)
opportunity, I was very excited to apply. It was not until I clicked the submit button for my
application that it really hit me, I am finally taking a step towards a goal that I have had for
years; it terrified me.
Actively setting these goals allowed me to take the time to reflect what is important in my
life and assess my personal beliefs and values. Through the experiences I have encountered in
university, I am able to find out more and more about myself (Groen & Kawalilak, 2014, p. 46). I
have taken my personal beliefs and values and incorporated them into my goals. When I am able
to achieve one of my goals, I am empowering myself in that I know I can do something as long
as I set my mind to it. I still seek my parents approval from time to time but I will stand up for
myself if need be. Being able to acknowledge these tensions in my life is part of figuring out
who I am (Groen & Kawalilak, 2014, p. 46).
The tensions that are present in my life originate from the varying types of power
relationships. There are different power relationships in ever aspect of my life. A few examples
of power relationships that are present in my life are between myself and my parents, my martial
arts teacher, my professors, siblings and co-workers and colleagues (to name a few). How I
manage these power relationships really speak to me as an adult learner. As an adult, I can no
longer let me emotions get the best of me (tacit knowledge) because I have learned that it
generally does not help resolve a situation.
Revisiting the example of seeking approval from my parents, I told them that I applied
for TAB and the sites that were available. My dad did not want me to apply to this program as he

saw potential dangers at all of the sites. I still applied, as I knew how important this opportunity
was for me; it allowed me to achieve more than one of my goals. I ranked the sites in the
following order, Vietnam, Japan and Brazil. When I found out I got Vietnam, I was relieved
because it was the site my dad least disapproved of. I knew that if I had gotten Japan, we would
have the biggest fight due to his view of radiation levels in the area. If I were to go to Japan, I
could still go but I knew that there would be consequences such as funding the whole trip on my
own, and paying for my own education. They know that I am not financially capable of
achieving both of those tasks therefore I would have to make the decision between school or
participating in TAB. This is a prime example as to how much power my parents have over me. I
understand that my parents want to keep me safe and they have my best interests at heart but they
do not understand how important an opportunity such as TAB is to me. I have to be as logical as
possible to show that I have considered the dangers of visiting a foreign countries and the
positives outcomes and that the positives outweigh the negatives.
Through my personal narratives I hope to convey who I am as an adult learner. There is
so much more to adult learning than formal education. There are so many different aspects such
as identity, goals for empowerment and tacit knowledge in relation to power. You have to
consider so many more perspectives and be that much more self aware when you are an adult
learner compared to learning as a child. As an adult I realize that learning is a lifelong process as
opposed to something that is achieved in a set amount of time.

References
Groen, J. & Kawalilak, C. (2014). Pathways of adult learning:
Professional and educational narratives. Toronto, ON: Canadian Scholars
Press.

I wake up at 6am (on a Monday) to go to a yoga or

spin class at 6:30am. I like starting my days off with a class
because it helps me feel refreshed and ready to go. At about
7:45am, I am leaving the studio and stopping at Starbucks
on my way to work.
By 8:15am I am in my grade 5 classroom, checking
emails that my principal or parents have sent over the
weekend. I have carefully planned all my lesson plans over
the weekend therefore I know exactly what I will do with my
class today. In addition to completing my lesson plans, I
have also done all my marking.
Its about 8:30am and students are slowly coming
into the school. My students are filtering into the classroom
and getting settled in their desks. We start the week off by
discussing what we did on the weekends.
At 3:30pm, school is over and I am dismissing my
students after a very productive day. I leave the school
between 3:45pm and 4pm. I go home to my dog and I take
him/her out for a walk. When we get home from the walk, I
make dinner (from scratch) for my husband and I.
After dinner, we will relax on the couch with a glass
of wine and talk about our days. I may do some marking or
planning for the next day at school (depending on the day)
and then itll be time for bed.

For my life at age 33

my vision

date updated Dec. 1, 2014

Obtain my first degree black belt

Graduate from the BEd program at the U of C

Volunteer with Teaching Across Borders

Cook from scratch 3 times a week

1 year

Obtain my second degree black belt

Teach internationally

See 30 countries by the time I am 25

Skydive in New Zealand

5 year

Reduce my screen time to a minimum (2 hours/day)

Promote healthy lifestyles for my students

Have my own classroom at a school in Calgary

Own a house in inner city Calgary

10 year

my goals
PERSONAL
CAREER
HEALTH
PERSONAL
CAREER
HEALTH
PERSONAL
CAREER
HEALTH

Janet
Wong

Appendix
1

Dec. 2014

Apr. 2016

Sep. 2015

Dec. 2015

Jun. 2018

Sep. 2017

Sep. 2016

Dec. 2019

Dec. 2020

Sep. 2021

Dec. 2024

by when