Have We Forgotten How to Learn?

As human beings we’re creatures of habit. 

On a personal, societal and global level. 

As individuals, we’ve brushed our teeth the same way every morning for decades now.

As a society, we’ve educated our children the same way every day for centuries. 

And as a species, we’ve watched the moon rise and the sun set the same way for millennia. 

We like to stick with the same things, particularly if we’ve stuck with them for a while already. 

And especially if they serve a purpose. 

Why fix what isn’t broken, right? 

But this is a perspective that brings with it both good news and bad news. 

The good news is habits are predictable. 

They create certainty in an otherwise extremely uncertain world. 

They allow us to pass information and processes from generation to generation with ease. 

The way we’ve changed a car tyre has been the same for a while now.

That’s useful and practical knowledge to pass on. 

The bad news is habits can be ignorant. 

They suggest ‘certainty’ is better than ‘uncertainty’ in a world that has no certainty other than death and birth.

They remain unquestioned despite the fact that a better, easier or more efficient way may be available right before our eyes.

Women being unable to vote was a political and societal habit that went unchanged for far too long. 

It was healthy to question it. 

Sometimes, it might not be wise to fix something if it isn’t broken.

But what if we’ve assumed it’s not broken, simply because ‘that’s the way it’s always been’?

What could that be costing us?

It’s fair to suggest that our habits have made things easier for us in some respects.

And completely blinded us in others.

Excuse the sweeping generalisation here.

But it’s a generalisation the majority will agree with regardless:

The habits we’ve put in place for ‘education success’ are well known:

Workbooks and textbooks at the ready.

A highlighter for important terms if you’re feeling determined.

Eyes to the front, despite the real-world needing you to have eyes everywhere.

No talking, despite the fact that your success in life will be determined by how well you can interact with others.

No sharing answers, yet when you get out and have to work with others, your success will critically depend on your ability to share them.

Our educational habits to date have helped us ‘gather knowledge’ in order to pass an exam.

Which is handy for passing exams.

But practically useless when we get out into the real world. 

They’ve helped business owners be able to define ‘marketing’, ‘sales’ and a ‘unique selling proposition’.

Which is handy for knowing how to define basic business terms.

But practically useless when they’re about to close their doors because no one ever taught them about embracing the discomfort of rejection when selling.

The typical modern education experience is a memory test, not a preparation for real life.

And as adults, we all intuitively sense this.

Yet we do very little to change it because it’s a habit.

“it’s the way it’s always been”.

If it’s not broken, don’t fix it, they say.

Only concern here is the typical education system is broken.

It does need to be fixed.

And it won’t be long until that change occurs.

It just depends on whether it happens by our choice, or whether its forced upon us by an economic environment that renders the current system of ‘education’ useless for all intents and purposes.

When employers realise the best employees aren’t the ones with the best memories, but the best legitimate skills.

The best people skills.

The best technical skills.

The best leadership skills.

The best resilience skills.

All the skills acquired while everyone else was staring at the whiteboard and trying to commit their textbooks to memory before tomorrow’s big multi-choice quiz.