This time I am exploring learning, the misleading aspects of education, and touch on a few thoughts. Like most of my blog posts, this is a culmination of thoughts that highlight an opinion. Enjoy.

Gathering Knowledge

Learning is the key to knowledge, and with knowledge comes an understanding of a topic or skill. While the methods as to what is the best way to teach or learn something can start a debate that will never find a true solution, I think it is fair to say that whatever method ends with that person understanding the topic or skill then it is a method that works. The only difficulty in this is that not everyone learns in the same way or at the same speed.

The traditional teaching model for classrooms has lasted a long time and so has the method of on-the-job training. This is another debate that can go on and on, but if it is not obvious, my point of view through all of this is focused on learning as something that an individual should actively participate because it is in their interest to do so.

Roughly 13 years of your life, the majority of your childhood is dedicated to going to school with the hope that you will receive a general education, and what you learn during this time may or may not help you later on in life.

One of the first things you find out is that your grade point average only helps you when you are planning to attend any higher educational system. Once you complete High School or its equivalent, or finish college with whatever degree you decide to get if you do not have any prior work experience, you are considered unskilled or an entry-level worker.

Your level of education is a testament to how far you have climbed the academic ladder so that the academic world can validate what you have accomplished. You have every right to be proud of what you have accomplished, and it should not matter where your academic education has ended because learning does not stop once you leave a classroom, it is something that you will always do no matter the location or situation you find yourself in.

What you learn has a lot to do with the environments you are exposed to; this statement sets up an extremely long list of examples that I am not going to even try to write. I will only mention that if you are thinking of these examples take into consideration that they range from highly advantageous to downright discouraging and they all change depending on the perspective of the person in them.

The knowledge you gather is yours. It does not matter where you acquire it, but keep in mind that what you learn can be changed by perception, distraction, and manipulation. To protect yourself from this, you should temper what you learn by testing the information, finding multiple sources for that information, and applying logic, forethought, or wisdom when needed.

Everyone holds what they know in such a high regard that when what they know is in question, they tend to react as if they have been offended in some way, shape, or form. While this reaction is fairly natural, it does tend to put people in a mindset where they are not willing to accept the information that could aid them.

My suggestion is to keep an open mind. New information or facts do not redefine you and what you have learned, but they are something that is added to the tangled web of knowledge that is interconnected and supports us as we move forward. Learn what you will, but always be mindful that you are capable of learning more than what you expect.

Misnomers of Education

The first misnomer is one that most people will probably disagree with me about, and that is that there is no such thing as a learning disability. When someone is classified as having a learning disability while they are in school (I was classified as such.); all it means is that this person has a problem learning within traditional teaching methods.

Traditional teaching methods do work for the most part, but it is a system based on time constraints as well as the baseline assumption that everyone should be able to learn things in a particular way.

Yes, schools do offer a few alternatives to assist those who they classify as learning disabled. but while these alternatives, things like changing a multiple-choice test question from 4 options to 2 options might help improve grade scores, it overlooks the core reason for the test to begin with and that is whether or not the individual acutely understands and has retained what they were taught.

NOTE: Let me say that I am not trying to blame anything on the teachers, they are some of the most hard-working people out there. Teachers are not just responsible for educating people, they have to create lesson plans and manage a large number of students while following the rules and guidelines of their employer. They each have their own lives to live while at the same time having to deal with the adopted stigmas that other people in their profession have done. All teachers have my respect.

The problem between so-called learning disabilities and the educational system is that the methods used during the teaching process are not flexible enough to accommodate the assumed minority of students.

The reasons as to why different methods of teaching are not used can be described in this simple phrase. Time, resources, and money. This triumvirate locks the educational system in a state of sustention where more money can provide more resources and more resources can grant more time for learning, but more time demands more money. This leaves the educational system stuck in a three-way tug-of-war match that if the balance goes too far in any direction not just students and teachers will suffer for it.

NOTE: If you are of the mind that I am ignoring certain circumstances in the text above, I would ask that you hear me out. People with cognitive disabilities are capable of learning, I know the term is a general one, but I cannot just supply a list that might overlook some of them, I think it is important to say that the learning process takes time and the proper balance of understanding and versatility on the part of the one doing the teaching. No one should ever be overlooked when it comes to learning.

The second and final misnomer that education presents has to do with institutes of higher learning. While that phrase alone starts to highlight the misnomer on its own, I feel that I must start this by easing into the topic.

It does not matter if you attend a university, college, or community college the intent is the same. A person goes to an establishment of higher learning to reach a particular goal in life, job, or situation for themselves. The only problem with this way of thinking is that it is not so much a given as it is an assumption.

While I hold to the belief that getting an education and more specifically learning is in everyone’s interest, it should go without mentioning that there is more than one way to reach the educational goals that you set for yourself.

The appeal of higher education is that it implies that it will provide you with a better life by highlighting that new bit of knowledge or new skill you will obtain by enrolling in classes. This better life means a better job or career and suggests that more money will come to you as a result of you making this critical deception.

Now, I am not saying that life is all about what a person achieves, but an aspect of our lives is relegated to how we prove ourselves to others. The earliest accomplishments in one’s life such as walking and talking are proof of our development, and if these skills do not present themselves promptly, the question of why is brought up.

It does not matter how capable you think you are it is up to you to prove yourself. Higher education is just another step in the process because once it is over you are going to have to prove yourself to your employer or the public at large before the idea that you know what you are about comes to light.

Establishments that offer higher education do not care if you accomplish your goals or graduate, they are a business. Sure, they can and will show you their preferred method of how you should be dealing with your classes, but if your performance is beneath their standards, it is all on you and not the method they provided.

There are no guarantees that if you graduate with any degree and hold a 4.0 GPA the entire time you will go places in life. What you do with whatever knowledge you have is all up to you. Prosperity is a matter of effort and perspective that is ultimately defended by the individual reaching for their goals.

The misnomer here is that higher education is only as important as you allow yourself to believe it to be. The constant reminder for someone to get an education is in my opinion a good thing, but it should be tempered with the premise that the knowledge you gain is only equal to the effort you put into applying it; instead of simply saying, your road to success starts here.

My Thoughts

After writing the majority of these last two blog posts, I thought that I would have some sort of a solution to propose, but all I can think of is the time when I was in grade school. I do not think my education was perfect, but I believe that I happened to make it through High School just before they started banning books like Of Mice and Men and The Catcher in the Rye. These are two great books that were assigned reading when I was in High School, and I enjoyed them.

I think that the concerns regarding the US educational system are very real and at the same time extremely political in nature. Things are to the point that the act of learning has been tied into a Gordian Knot and that the only solution to solve the knot that cannot be untied is to do what Alexander the Great did and cleave the tangled rope with his sword.

But I do not think a modern version of The Dark Age is anything that anyone would want to experience while the educational system is rebuilt, so I will leave this problem to people much wiser than me. After all, I am just a wanderer who appreciates the mind and all it can contain. Until next time, I am Nolan Ex Tenebris.