by Mary Adams, AWC The Hague
AWC The Hague member Barbara Brookman was interviewed about her experience as a continuing education* student. In 2018, Barbara returned to the Netherlands with her husband and daughter after almost 30 years in the US. At the age of 52, she retired from a career in the engineering and construction sector (E&C) as a tender manager working with teams of engineers, builders, and communicators. Barbara has served as the club’s FAWCO Rep, Vice President and two terms as club President during the pandemic. Barbara holds a master’s degree in Indonesian language and culture from Rijksuniversiteit Leiden and a master’s in journalism from the University of Arizona.
*SDG 4 addresses equal access to higher education, which includes continuing education. Continuing education refers to a variety of post-secondary learning options, including degree programs, online courses, career training and more.
(Q) When you were a FAWCO Rep, you were part of the writing team for a 2020 Development Grant awarded to TheBridge2Hope Academy. This grant enabled human trafficking survivors to learn computer skills in order to reintegrate into society. What motivated you to participate?
(A) In my professional life, I was focused on communicating technical information about large infrastructure projects to decision-makers and the community. I learned how to clearly communicate a message to meet criteria but also tell a story so people can see the benefits. The project at TheBridge2Hope Academy illustrates that continuing education is not only for people who hold university degrees. There are all types of continuing education, whether it is teaching a new skill or challenging how you look at life.
(Q) Philosophy sounds like complicated stuff! What was your motivation to continue your education in philosophy?
(A) I am not sure if I decided on philosophy, or it decided on me! Throughout my career, I’ve taken different classes to enhance my work skills. Questions became second nature to me. As a tender manager, I questioned engineers and builders about why we were designing and building a project in a certain way. Could it be more innovative, cheaper, or more sustainable? How do you combine all these things to develop a successful bid that meets both community and political needs? But it wasn’t only work-related. As a Dutch person living in the United States, as a non- engineer working in the E&C sector, and now as a re-pat in the Netherlands, I formed an outsider’s viewpoint. We can get so stuck in our own little worlds with comfort and certainty in our groups, our nationalities, and our communities that we lose objectivity. That means challenging what seems normal, living with uncertainty, doubting what you think is right or true. Studying philosophy seemed a good fit for me.
(Q) What classes and universities are you attending?
(A) The classes I’m taking are offered as part of the HOVO (continuing education) programs at the Rijksuniversiteit Leiden and the Vrije Universiteit van Amsterdam. I selected classes focused on philosophy. I have learned about epistemology, which is the theory of knowledge. I took a class called Truth, Knowledge, and Science. How do we know that something is true? I’ve also taken classes focused on logic and decision-making. The last class I took was on metaphysics and the problem of consciousness. What is consciousness? Do our senses correctly describe reality?
(Q) The University of Toronto advises students to study philosophy because “Philosophy courses offer the potential of learning how to become more creative, and to think more carefully: to understand texts or chains of reasoning without getting bamboozled; to assemble the data for yourself and draw your own conclusions about what they show.”1
(A)
Philosophy is about asking questions, not necessarily about the answers. In fact, philosophy teaches us that there are only incomplete answers. But it also suggests infinite possibilities. That is the beauty of philosophy in daily practice. For example, as a member of the AWC Book Club, I feel that I think about books differently. Not in a “philosophical” way, but in how I analyze what I have read. It also filters through to my everyday life. As long as there are interesting classes, I will continue to study.
(Q) Let’s finish with continuing education at the global SDG 4 level. Why is it important for women and girls?
(A) Continuing education provides opportunities for women in all phases of life. For working women, it is an opportunity for skills enhancement or learning new skills. For non-working women, it can be an opportunity to explore their passions. It isn’t that you can’t learn by yourself, but continuing education provides a structure for learning.
(Q) What can we do as the FAWCO Education Team to promote continuing education for members?
(A) I think that the Education Team can work with clubs to create a continuing education reference base for members so that they are aware of what is available in their areas or online.
1 https://philosophy.utoronto.ca/about/why-study-philosophy/
Photo: Canva
