May 31, 2020
Sparking the Fire
“You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink”! This metaphoric term from the 12th century highlights how one cannot be coerced to do something even when provided with opportunity and advantage. Yet, we repeatedly overlook this principle in the realm of education.
We continue to teach to the test, like sages on a stage, making the sole purpose of schooling the admission to a university. Educators are all focused on the goal, the end result that is indicated by a grade or score rather than the process. We neglect the very purpose of education, which is to create hunger as we are swamped with different methods of feeding that hunger. This state of affairs continues to dominate the educational sphere even though policymakers, researchers, leaders, teachers, and parents worldwide are questioning and refuting the same. People have been emphasizing the ‘what’ and the ‘how’ of learning and teaching for so many decades that the ‘why’ has been submerged deep.
The ignorance prevailing in society allows ‘knowledge’ to be equated and interchangeably used with ‘wisdom’. Knowledge continues to be likened to power and hence the focus is the mastery of content even though the digital revolution offers free and unlimited access. Parents and teachers emphasize percentages in board exams, SAT scores, and entrance tests. A student’s worth is equated with his grades and degree, negating every other aspect of the whole. As victims of habit and perpetrators of current practices, we fail to mobilize the wisdom and curiosity that lay inherent in human life, waiting to be stroked.
We fail to “light the fire” that William Butler Yeats referred to as we are submerged in a checking industry that treasures standardized testing and attainment of degrees. The sheer experience of joy, excitement and wonder while reading a new book, self-discovery and the thirst for new knowledge and understanding is trivialized under the blanket of constricted time schedules, curriculum demands, and assessment requirements. Consequently, the impact is represented by depleting number of readers, as books are narrowly associated with academics, by resistance to feedback since it is equated to grading and judgments, by ignorance of real-world issues as learning is confined to knowledge presented in books within four walls, and by preserving a culture of sheep rather than lions as teachers aim to engage rather than empower their children!
Henry Ford remarked, “Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eight”! It would be worthy to consider the number of professions that emphasize and provide opportunities for learning alongside practice. The system does not make it obligatory for individuals from various professions to update their skills, techniques and tools every couple of years nor does it provide opportunities for one to elevate the skills of critical thinking, flexibility and collaboration. It seems preposterous that a title against one’s name can guarantee all-encompassing attainment of expertise in a specific area for an entire lifetime. Hence, this failure to imbibe a continual learning spirit can be attributed to a flaw in the system that sustains a spirit of academic achievement as its primary goal. As a result, learning is conceived as a goal to be attained before launching into the job market. This failure to learn post formal education prevails in spite of the demands of the twenty-first century, which requires an incessant and ceaseless pursuit of diverse forms of literacy.
All those who created something extraordinary or lived lives that continue to spread value and worth were people who ensured that they kept their curiosity and the learning spirit alive. Leonardo da Vinci was a quintessential lifelong learner as he held onto the belief that “learning never exhausts the mind”. His intense curiosity about everyone and everything he encountered led him to pursue myriad fields of study, including a deep analysis of the human body, natural sciences, mathematics, engineering and musical instruments. His ability to move beyond the known through extensive interrogation led to the creation of masterpieces that continue to be celebrated five hundred years later. Similarly, Walt Disney devoted his energies to addressing his potent curiosity and committed himself to learn throughout his life and through different tools and methods. He remarked, “We keep moving forward, opening up new doors, and doing new things, because we’re curious. And curiosity keeps leading us down new paths”.
Learning requires diligence, commitment and perseverance. William Crawford rightfully stated, “Being a student is easy. Learning requires actual work”. Let us begin by setting personal learning targets and adopting a tool to ensure we persevere in this endeavour. Using our friends and families as buddies, let’s create communities of learners that inspire each other to a path of continual growth and revitalization. After all, learning is light! Furthermore, let’s redefine learning to encompass spaces and encounters beyond the confines of a classroom or teacher. Maintaining a notebook and recording events and ideas, as Leonardo da Vinci did, will help hone curiosity and will stimulate further learning. Albert Einstein had said, “It’s not that I’m so smart. But I stay with the question much longer”. So, in addition to recording observations and ideas, ensure you keep track of the “what”, “how”, “why” and the “why not”.
Recent research in neuroscience has proven the plasticity of the brain and its capacity to be altered and adapted. Neurons that fire together, wire together! Challenging self to step out of the comfort zone and encroach on unchartered territories will ignite new neurons and create novel connections. This initiation to prioritize personal growth and dig deeper will surely lead to a revolution for oneself that will ripple through society and allow new realms of potential and power to be realized! The idea is to keep moving ahead, even if it is one step at a time because once you give up, you out of the game! Move on!
