Show Life long learning a progressive reality In a year five-year period from 1979 to 1984 90 perce percent t of all medical advances took place ac according to futurist Marvin Cetron quoted in the 1988 Information Please Almanac Al Al- manac A doctor researcher surgeon who hasn't read the literature only knows 10 percent percent percent per per- cent of what's going on Cetron says And in the five years since the scale of discoveries discoveries discoveries dis dis- dis- dis and techniques has intensified further Other futurists agree as do 5 higher education officials At 5 Salt Lake Community College President OD Carnahan says that while the accumulation of knowledge is doubling and andre re- re doubling re-doubling every few years the majority of people in the work force are falling further and further behind Nowadays just little knowledge in some fields really really real real- ly Iy can be a dangerous thing Dr Carnahan says why higher education generally is tr to strengthen primary require require- ments meets They comprise a sure basis for all that follows much of which must be given in accelerated accelerated accelerated ac ac- ac- ac form because there is isso isso isso so much one needs to know for every specialty Already the re-entry re students students students stu stu- stu- stu dents at represent a prominent segment of the Certainly many are mature women who for or years have not had the opportunity opportunity opportunity to further their heir tion But there are others who are tracked as coming back to school every few years to be updated both as to knowledge and skills Current wisdom is that in order to keep abreast of the technical evolutions most workers should return to school every five to ten years As an example 90 percent of every single thing we have in materials research came out in inthe inthe inthe the last ten years The individual individual individual in in- in that general field needs to be aware of what is happening almost year by year There has been a quiet revolution even in community community community com com- colleges as faculties have seen the necessity to constantly update curricula A Alook Alook Alook look at any college catalog during the past half half dozen dozen years shows dramatic changes reflecting the outpouring of new knowledge The basics students are now required to tobe tobe tobe be familiar with are far more developed than in previous times Faculty and administrators are frequently perusing the latest trade and technical magazines attending seminars seminars seminars semi semi- nars taking time to get back into industry and research listening listening listening lis lis- lis- lis and watching audio and video cassettes depicting the very newest developments developments developments develop develop- ments improving their own techniques and so on There is much they need to pass on onto onto onto to their students There is an air of anticipation tion and revelation as faculty seize on a new discovery which impacts their fields of interest Lifelong learning is a reality and most adults in the work force can expect to ta take e additional schooling at several points during their mr productive lives For many failure to do so will s surely rely mean stagnation both in knowledge and in professional professional professional position |