Today is the day we celebrate World Teachers Day.

It wasn't until I started working in education and my own child attended school did I realise the importance of schools in community. Police stations deal with many events in community that are not joyous or filled with learning (although I am sure some hard lessons are learnt by folks in that environment). Hospitals and clinics treat the sick and injured, saving and giving life but even there people are exposed to a mix of pain and suffering. An exception is greeting your newborn child or seeing someone cured.

In school there are challenges to  be sure, but we are teaching, nurturing, guiding and trying to prepare children to be the best that they can be with a value set that makes them a citizen of the planet. So today we celebrate those people who do that job of helping mum and dad guide their child along a path of learning and maybe more importantly understanding the learning.

Today is also Bill Gate's birthday, a person who like Steve Jobs has had a profound affect on the residents of this planet.

Today also marks the day that I have been using computers for longer than I have not used a computer.

Today I also have a birthday and turning 50 is always a time for a little reflection.

Last night I compiled my first iPad application and transferred it from the Mac to the iPad. It is a shocker of an app, it doesn't really do much and half the buttons didn't work, however I don't mind because at 49 and 364 days of age, I was able to do it by myself.

So thanks to a combination of Mr Gates and Mr Jobs - my 25 year involvement with computers at a professional level is something to celebrate because like the very children we are trying to inspire, mentor and teach it is self satisfying to feel that at 50 I still have the urge to bash away at something new until I know how to do it and be excited by it.

Today is also Hari Sumpah Pemuda or national youth oath day in Indonesia and it is also Bandanna Day where you can purchase a bandanna to help  youth cancer patients.

So I apologise for a self indulgent post, but hopefully the message of life long learning comes through loud and clear.... on this rather special day for me and a few others.

Now to get those two pesky buttons working!

This entry was posted on October 28, 2011 at 5:15 PM and has received 171 views. There are currently 0 comments. Print this entry.