Learning: Then & Now

Something I always say to the students and young professionals of today – they don’t realize how lucky they are. I come from a time when learning was extremely different, manual and quite difficult. We actually had to go to the library, look for books, clean dust off of them sometimes and sit through hours of turning pages to learn and work on assignments. Don’t get me wrong. I will still encourage people to go to libraries – but that is a topic for another day.

And then there are our recent times. Where many students who are privileged enough to get to university probably also have access to internet and even better a smart phone bringing the world of information, knowledge and learning to the palms of their hands. I do acknowledge that this may not be everyone and like I mentioned, living an urban life and being in universities and colleges is a privilege but this article is more about how many aren’t even utilizing the privilege effectively.

I often hear students complain about curricula. Talking about how they are not being prepared adequately enough for the job market. Almost every country in the world has similar complaints but at the same time, almost every country also feels that this is a problem that only exists for them. My experience has shown me otherwise. The interesting thing is that this challenge is global. While there might be some nuances that are different but students all over the world feel this way.

The solution to this is always presented as curriculum change. While curriculum change is a noble cause to fight for and definitely something that needs to be done for the long term, the process of changing curricula related to education is often long and bureaucratic (perhaps for good reason). However, in today’s time of “exponential growth” can these changes really keep up? By the time you review a curriculum and actually begin implementing it, haven’t things in the real world changed already? Will you benefit from curricula change or will it be your children and grandchildren?

My point being that; until our processes of curricula change become more adaptive and robust, what is needed more is a change of mindset and perspective. Except for some hard skills many of the skills across different fields are currently available virtually. At the click of a button. Many of them for free as well. This “virtual education” wave was also further promoted by the COVID19 pandemic (one of the few silver linings) and will only be further strengthened with the growth of technology.

What needs to be done?

-???????As a young student and professional, identify what are the gaps in the information and education being provided to you and try to be as specific as you can.

-???????Develop a learning plan and find what sort of resources are available virtually. What gaps can you fill with free online courses, webinars etc? There is so much content out there!

-???????Develop an implementation plan of how you will use the learnings to improve yourself and make yourself more apt for the job market (or entrepreneurship if that’s your thing). Can you use the knowledge in a particular project?

-???????Advocate for internet accessibility. I acknowledge that internet can be a challenge, but we can all play a part in ensuring that connectivity is achieved.

-???????Inculcate within yourself the discipline to learn virtually. I can personally attest that is a skill in itself.

What needs to change?

-???????Stop complaining! It doesn’t help or change anything. Remember, advocacy for change is different from complaining. Know the difference.

-???????Stop collecting certificates for the sake of it. I choose to bold this because I see this as an epidemic. Young people doing millions of courses online and collecting and sharing certificates. Not the most helpful thing. The reason I emphasize on the implementation plan above is because learning without executing and using the knowledge can be quite pointless. Having millions of certificates doesn’t prove that you know. The “fill your CV with certificates” is I believe one of the biggest professional myths of today’s times.

All in all, develop the culture of being a strategic continuous learner. Take every opportunity you get to learn but be strategic about it as well. Work on your general knowledge, keep up with the happenings around the world and continuously sharpen your saw, mindfully.