Thoughts on Professional Learning: A promise to my learners

 A promise to my learners

By Nadia Kader


This has been a challenging year for me. I finished my first year in grad school. I got married. I had familial strife. My cat got mad at me. I got my first failing grade ever. I have had to completely reorganize how I work in order to fit in everything I need to get done. I went through a big depressive episode. I had to start taking anti-depressants. Loved ones passed. I have had relationships in my life change and end. I let people down. I started voice lessons to bring music back into my life. I had to take on more leadership responsibilities. I had to make space for hobbies and joy for my own sanity.


 A lot of changes are difficult for anyone but especially hard for neurodivergent people. There’s a grief that pops up. Grieving what I couldn’t do. Grieving that I lost skills. Grieving that I can’t be the ‘young superstar’ I always strived to be. I am not that young anymore. 


 To accomplish what I want to do, I have had to reorient myself and how I approach work. Jumping back into this school year, I decided to write a promise to my learners, my beloved adult education and literacy practitioners.


Merriam-Webster defines a vow as “to promise solemnly; to bind or consecrate.” In this instance, I am writing vows as a commitment and promise to my learners. 


I vow to put my best foot forward, always.

I vow to listen more.

I vow to take the field’s concerns seriously.

I vow to implement research-based best practices in all of my projects.

I vow to make more of an effort to connect to my adult ed and literacy community. 

I vow to appreciate all the efforts the field does to support their learners and their local communities.


I vow to dedicate my professional life to improving the field through hard work, determination, LISTENING to what people are asking for, and striving to leave the field better off than how I found it. Or how it found me.


Adult education has given me purpose, a career, and hope. I vow to continue to support the practitioners of this field. It’s the least I can do for all it has given me.


References

Definition of VOW. (n.d.). Www.Merriam-Webster.Com. Retrieved August 26, 2026, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vow 

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