Educational Plateaus

Learning new skills requires patience. If you've been working at it for a while, it can seem like forever until you get the new lick under fingers, or that new dominant 7th chord arpeggiated just so, or having the keys fall into place under your fingers. Learning new skills requires an understanding of educational plateaus.

Recently I was applying for a really fascinating job that seemed to be "me". What hit home, were the web-based questions that were asked in the form. As I was pondering my responses, I was reminded of a seemingly innocuous conversation I had with a music teacher oh so many years ago. He told me about educational plateaus.

If you graph the learning curve of a new skill -- it really doesn't look much like a curve at all. It falls into what looks more like a series of plateaus. Early on in the learning stages,

the plateaus are fairly steep stepped. The longer you study

your skill, the smaller the plateaus become. But, they're still there.

Understanding plateaus may help you understand your individual learning progress or what may seem like a lack of progress. Keep at it. You will get to the next plateau.

Regarding the job application. I don't know yet.

We'll see.

Speaking of plateaus, I included a couple of pictures in this post that remind me of educational learning plateaus and epiphanies.

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At the left are two who are enjoying an Austin sunset over a plateau.

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Above, is a still from a fireworks display at a ballpark -- when you look to the sky, sometimes there's more than fireworks -- you never know when an epiphany can hit.