The School of Life

August 26, 1:02 PMSF Careers ExaminerGibson Scheid, Ph.D.

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Stephen Tsol

What if there was a store where you could go to find answers to questions about life and living— and work. Wouldn’t that make living a lot easier? Well, I recently discovered that there is such a place. Unfortunately it is not in the United States, but rather it is in central London and it is called the School of Life.  I thought you might like to find out what I learned about the place.

In a Monocle video (September, 2008 http://www.monocle.com/sections/business/Web-Articles/The-School-of-Life/) of an interview with the director of the School of Life, Sophie Howarth, remarked:

“Typically the world of self-help is terribly doughty. The idea behind the School of Life was to make it a gathering place for intelligent people who could have “really invigorated conversations.”

She looks for inspirational speakers who will “take people to places that seem idiosyncratic and rather unexpectedly fascinating to them.”

It did not take me long to become enchanted with the place. As a career counselor I am often disappointed and quite frankly, bored by what is available to help others choose, manage and find the work that puts smiles on their faces and money in their pockets.

 I was intrigued to find that at the School of Life one may take classes in what the school classifies as topics “about five of the big issues of life—love, politics, work, family and play.” The "work" course that is currently offered is led by faculty member, Roman Krznaric, who according to his bio on theschooloflife.com is “ a writer and teacher on creative thinking about the art of living and social change.”

In the marketing flyer for the course—which like the website and so much about the School of Life, is quite clever—they ask the questions that many of my clients also ask:

            -“Is it possible to find a job we love?

            -How do we decide what work to do?

            -Can we give ourselves a second chance?” (i.e., reinvent ourselves)

 I wanted to jump on the next plane to London!

 I have learned a little (and I want to learn so much more…) about the School of Life, but from what I have learned, it appears to be a place where interested people can go to meet with other interested people and learn some new ideas or at the least, some new ways of thinking. While visiting, one may also purchase books, postcards and other materials, that I hope will soon be offered on line. One that will be at the top of my list is “expert in a jar”—a large glass jar with a tiny figure sporting the uniforms of different occupations.

 The School of Life does not appear to be simply a repackaging of outdated ideas, but rather an innovative and playful approach to learning life lessons. I want to visit.

For more info: 

theschooloflife.com

You might also like to visit my website:  gibsonworks.com