Education and Learning

What would you do if you were not allowed to get an education? You couldn’t read or write. You had to work a minimum wage job at a factory and you weren’t happy with the job. You couldn’t teach your kid any skills because you didn’t learn anything.  Education like a torch light disperses darkness.  Education is power, banishes ignorance, enriches and nourishes.  Learning is a continuous process and we learn new things everyday.  The basic question comes to us why do we have to learn at all, what is the necessity of learning.  We require food for survival of our physical body and for our nourishment, and thereby, we gain energy.  We do not even realize that our mind continually thirsts for knowledge.  It is human basic instinct that our mind will want to know more and more things.  Our mind is inquisitive about knowing new things, new adventures, about new movies, new stories, and to what is happening around us, and perhaps curious about new occurrences in the society and the world around us.

Albert Einstein remarked “Education is not learning of the facts, but training of the mind to think.”  There are so many things in this world that need to be learnt.  Our mind only receives and can comprehend certain facts only.  For example, when we read a book, we do not remember everything that we have read.  We may not like all the arguments that have been printed in the book.  Certainly, there are certain points that attract us, and we cherish them in our minds and pen them down in our diary or some other book that is precious to us.  So, by studying, reading, and learning things, we are basically training and sharpening our brains to think more sharply.  In the physical world, we need material things to fulfill our physical needs and we need currency to purchase them.  Practically speaking, we cannot completely pile up material things or currency around us and keep consuming them.  We just need them little by little as we live along.  In the same way, our mind only grasps small quantities of knowledge at a time.

Upto the period of Renaissance, people were restricted to think and even curtailed their freedom to read books.  They were compelled to read only a few books that were prescribed to them.  Learning was a sin during the medieval period.  During Renaissance period, people crossed the threshold of intellectual darkness and entered into the world of enlightenment, and explored various possibilities and methods of learning.  By 20^th century, people broke the barriers of conventional thinking, learning, and opened the doors to new ways of thinking, new ways of exploring, which made them free thinkers, and this is really an unremarkable accomplishment.

In terms of knowledge, there are so many things in the world that needs attention.  There are so many mind boggling questions in this world and universe that have remained unanswered.  In fact, we have not even able to scratch the surface of knowledge that is present in this world and universe.  Our mind can learn only certain things to certain extent.  It is injudiciousness to think that we can learn everything in one day or to desire to want to know everything.  For instance, is it impossible to drink a huge pitcher of water at once or to drink body of water from the river in one gulp.  It is unquestionably impossible task to achieve.   Once, St. Augustine was taking a walk on the beach pondering about creation, world, universe, God, and various other things.  As he was walking on the beach, he noticed a small boy playing on the beach by digging a small hole in the sand, and then, he started pouring sea water into the hole.  He continuously was fetching water and pouring water into the hole.  Augustine was very curious about it and asked the boy as to what he was doing.  The boy said that he was trying the empty the ocean.  Augustine laughed at this and said that it was impossible.  The boy then replied saying, “then, how do you think you can learn everything with your small brain.”  Augustine was puzzled about the answer, and the boy instantaneously vanished.

Education brings us reputation and value to ourselves.  One becomes more valued in the society if one puts on the garment of learning and education.  For instance, if we notice difference between learned and illiterate, whom do you think people would value more?  Obviously, the learned gets primary significance and they are respected in the society than the illiterates.  People think that they have better knowledge and well informed of many things of the society and the world.  Gold and diamonds are considered as precious metals because they are more valued in the world market today than silver or other metals.

Education is not all about studying and getting good marks.  It is really a means to discover new things, which we don't know about and increase our knowledge.  An educated person has the ability to differentiate between right and wrong or good and evil. It is the foremost responsibility of a society to educate its citizens.  Education helps man to make right choices at the right time.  A person becomes perfect with education as he is not only gaining something from it, but also contributing to the growth of a nation.  We must realize the importance of education. We must aim to ensure that each citizen of our nation is educated and independent.

Nelson Mandela said “Education is the most powerful weapon, which you can use to change the world.”  Education dispels darkness.  Being illiterate or lack of education will only bring disaster in life.  If we were to walk through a dense forest, what do we do, we at least carry a small torch light to disperse the darkness to move ahead.  Otherwise, we might find it extremely difficult to go ahead unless there is providence of moonlight, which we cannot expect in every situation.  Revathi is an illiterate woman and her son is highly educated, both of them are living in a remote village.  Her son after completion of his studies goes back to the village to see his mother and stays with his mother for sometime.  One day, the son goes out to attend to a small business of his own.  Revathi in the meantime prepares food for his son by using firewood and some waste paper, which is found in her house.  After sometime, son comes home and tells mother that he has got a good job in the city, and he says he has to attend the interview.  Mother is very happy about it.  Son in the meantime searches for his certificates, but he is unable to find them.  So, he began to worry about it.  Finally, to his astonishment, he finds pieces of burned papers near the wood-burning stove where his mother cooked food for him earlier.  He felt devastated and ransacked because those pieces of burned papers are his original certificates.  His mother’s ignorance jeopardized his career.

Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan said “The end-product of education should be a free creative man, who can battle against historical circumstances and adversities of nature.”  Learning and education must help us fight against adversities and must make us more cultured human beings.  We must nurture and develop right attitude.  We can better handle many circumstances, situations, problems in the society if we have logical pattern of thinking.  We need to use our learning in a fruitful way, so that it benefits us and the society.  When we consume food, our physical body receives food and energizes our body and gives us strength.  Likewise, education must energize our thinking pattern to act wisely and prudently, and at the same time, respecting and valuing other’s opinions and thoughts.

Learning is a continuous process.  It does not end when we complete our degrees.  Our life is the process of learning until we take last breath.  Socrates for instance was imprisoned and was about to be sentenced to death.  While in the prison cell, he heard a companion singing a new song.  Socrates was mesmerized by this song, hence, he wanted to learn this song and requested his companion to teach him this song.  Grammarian in Robert Browning’s dramatic monologue for example, kept learning until his last breath.  In short, we must develop correct attitude to learn, which is very essential for us.  It is bridge from ignorance to light, from darkness to the world of truth and enlightenment.

Reading books and literature, or any other books makes us wise and intelligible, and thus we are better informed about many things.  Reading and comprehending author’s concepts and ideas can be considered as the most intellectual intimate relationship.  Through reading, one can explore into another person’s mind to comprehend his or her thoughts.  One can understand his or her mind emotionally, physically, spiritually, and in whatever way possible.  The most closet and intimate relationship one can have is only through reading because through reading, one can understand another mind through their writings and literature, and in fact, one can enter directly into their minds.  In short, authors and writers put down their thoughts, concepts, and imagination, both positives and negatives, and they capture them into a symbolic language using words that can be remembered, read, and understood for the future generations.  It is really amazing that their imagination and wonderful thoughts of writings are still alive in the minds of people today and for generations to come, and writers are intellectually present today.

I strongly believe learning is important and valuable because without learning, the world would function more poorly.  We will not be able to perform our routine activities appropriately.  Learning in fact fetches us health, power, happiness, financial security, knowledge, and lot of other benefits.  Knowledge gives us power and helps us in many ways to move forward in life, and hence, let us not cease to learn and help one another in climbing the ladder of learning.  After completion of our studies and degrees, we must break the conventional pattern of thinking and develop our own pattern of thinking, and must present ‘ME’ to the world.  When I begin to develop my own pattern of thinking, I believe that is the success of my own studies and learning.