no noise please

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Living and Learning –

I have written in past posts the difficulty I had learning as a child.  You can read more about these difficulties in these posts ‘Learning the Hard Way‘, and ‘A Slow Learner am I‘.   I was labeled as a ‘slow learner’ and a child with ‘learning disabilities’.  Per Dictionary.com, certain criteria consider me ‘retarded’.

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Some of those learning difficulties I had as a child continues today.  The difference is today I understand and accept that which makes it difficult for me to learn.  But, still today at times I become frustrated with the learning process.  The frustration is mainly due to my learning style or method being interrupted and then concentration is lost.  First of all, I am a visual person: I need to see something to learn something.  Me sitting and listening to a lecture is a lost cause – I will receive very little from it.  And if there is a visual portion, I may receive a little more, but I need my own set of visuals to learn.

And for me I learn best by myself; reading, researching, documenting, speaking out loud to myself – this is a great learning method for me.

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I also need quite time, no noise please.  No TV in the background and sorry Gary – no phone calls with speaker phone – please?

In the last job I held before retiring, I was a IT Quality Assurance Specialist.  This company created software for devices related to delivery of communication.  On the surface of any software; what the end-user sees and uses – we take for granted that it will work.  If it does not work, someone did not do their job, usually that someone is Quality Assurance.  My job was to make sure the software worked per specifications and requirements and it would not break anything else and it would be easy for the end-user to understand and use.

Sounds like an easy job, right?

For me not so easy, but I did find it challenging – and challenging is a good thing.

I would arrive early in the morning; several hours before anyone would else because I needed my quite time, no noise please.

You see, I had much to learn about those specifications and requirements I just mentioned.  They were complicated and I had to know them inside and out; it was my job to ensure the software worked as it should.  So there I was early in the morning with no noise no interruptions with my visuals and I read, researched, documented and spoke out loud to myself.  I learned my way and I was excellent at my job.

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Children and adults learn different ways – there are many different styles and methods to learning.

What about you, how do you like to learn?

50 thoughts on “no noise please”

  1. I like to learn in a quiet space with a cup of tea. I can study for an hour at a time and then I need a five-minute break. I’m fortunate to be a happy reader and I don’t mind reading manuals if I have a quiet place to think about them.

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  3. I like the quiet Terry, for me it is the only way. I can listen to a lecture, but I also like to write important information down (usually it is a scribble). I prefer to read and learn and again, I write information down, and find some way to make it easier for me to remember. It is all about the quiet for me.
    Hope you have a good day 🙂

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  4. This was an interesting post. I’m a special education teacher in high school, so I love to hear about how different people (especially those who were tagged as having a learning disability) learn. Some fun stats about learning. The average human being will retain: 5% of what they hear (conference, class), 10% of what they read, 20% of what they see and hear (ie: video), 30% of what is explained and demonstrated, 50% of something that has been discussed (as long as the individual had an active part in the discussion), 75% of what they learn while doing and 90% of what they see, hear, is demonstrated and is put into practice in a meaningful way very quickly. Now, consider that the average human being has a passive attention span of about 10 minutes. This is kind of scary when we think that a lot of classes are taught with a teacher just speaking, perhaps having students write notes, for a good hour. I personally need to learn, I need to do. To remember (by heart) I need to write. Have a good day!

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    • Very interesting stats Sophie! I also find it interesting in the difference we have in learning. I need to read and then find my own way to comprehend – a way that makes sense to me. Thanks for stopping by today to read and comment, I appreciate it very much. 🙂

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  5. I’m lucky to have been blessed as someone who learns things easily from a variety of methods. It was always tough to see my friends who didn’t learn in traditional ways struggle with school, even though I knew they were as smart as many of the kids who did well in school. Their grades suffered because they just didn’t learn like anyone else, not because they weren’t as smart as others.

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    • Kathryn, Gary is also a hands-on learner, and he can learn with all kinds of noise going on. My concentration is lost when interrupted and literally I have to start over again. Thanks for stopping by today. 🙂

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  9. I’m a ‘hands on’ learner. I need to be shown and then allowed to do it myself. Sometimes I’ll have questions, but usually that’s enough. I don’t mind a bit of background music, but chaos? nope. And don’t micro-manage me. I hated nothing more than to have my supervisor (whom usually I’d trained anyway) hovering around nit-picking at my work. I can listen to a lecture and come away with most of what I’m supposed to know intact, but I admit to getting bored and usually any papers are covered with more doodles than notes.

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    • Lectures are just too quick of me to take the notes I need for later. I do not remember by listening, I need written material in front of me that I can read over and over again. Thanks Embeecee, I appreciate your comment as always. 🙂

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  10. My OCD made me need to work in quiet and also a few extra hours to deal with the compulsive behavior. On tic that made me crazy was checking what was inside an envelope before sealing it. Sometimes I would do it 20 times. Medication has made that much better – yay for modern life.

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  12. Really interesting post Terry. I can absorb information by hearing it (I still vividly remember information from lectures I went to in my early twenties), but am better with the written word.
    I only process and actually learn in a quiet place by myself. I think that writing and speaking are actually how I learn best. I used to think that writing was about recording what is already known, and I struggled to begin essays, reports, etc (irony: I’ve spent most of my working life as a copywriter). Now I’ve realised that I create meaning as I write, which means that I am constantly editing and re-editing and even short pieces take ages. I think that’s why I’m drawn to photography; it’s much quicker 🙂

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  13. This post really got me thinking and as much as I have lots to comment I’m going to hold back because I think I may have too much to say! lol I did grab my daughter’s laptop and read the older posts you suggested plus a few more but then I realized that she was signed in as “Surprising Lives” so I didn’t want to confuse you more by commenting under that id! Nevertheless, very interesting and perhaps one day we can chat more about this topic. Amanda

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  16. Very interesting post, Terry! It´s funny: I used to be able to learn while listening to music when I was still at school, I even imagined, it helped me to learn better, but the older I get I prefer it to be quiet. I´m always amazed seeing people sitting in my local library, writing stuff on their computers, that´s a thing I do best at home. And I can totally understand why you got earlier to work – I always do/did that when possible too, it´s so much nicer and quieter then 😉

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  19. I like to study and read with either total quiet or some light background music. Some years back I had the option of attending classes prior to a professional certification or just reading the courses’ textbooks and then taking the tests. I opted for hitting the books in each instance and always will if presented with such an option in the future. Classes just don’t get it done for me in comparison to being able to isolate myself and pour through the material.

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    • Bruce, you and I are very much alike. Leave me alone with reading material and it is amazing how well I learn. I appreciate you stopping by today to catchup on reading my posts and hope all is well with you. 🙂

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  20. I am a no noise please person too… my learning style has changed though… in jr high and high school- I would take all my books home beginning of the school year and read them cover to cover… throw them in the locker and pass every test… things like math just ‘clicked’ and if I saw something written down, or as a pic… it just stuck with me… now? Lol… I have to be able to immediately apply it… or a week from now? My brain is like ‘data dump time’. And I have to talk talk talk about it… exhausting. Lol. Oh and weirdest? I can only recall handwritten text. 🤔

    I’m officially weird. Lol

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    • It is interesting how our learning changes as we grow. I can read something and remember it for quite some time, but in order to remember it, I need no noise and I need to read over and over again before it finally sinks into my brain. I doubt you are any weirder than me or anyone else. I appreciate you taking the time to read and comment. 🙂

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