LEARNING

 

LEARNING

PREAMBLE:

 

     One of the most relevant requirements for humans is learning. Perhaps it begins almost from the stage of infancy and never “ends” in the true sense. Despite learning being the longest associate of life, none can comfortably relax with the notion that “I have learnt most of the things if not everything”. On the contrary it would be more real if we say “I have learnt something of something and it appears incomplete”. It is not an attempt to denigrate the values of knowledge but a dispassionate feeling that for a near total knowledge of everything, our life span is inadequate. Therefore, at some stage in one’s life, deviation into a specific domain is logical and relevant. This is the basis on which the practical approaches to education are designed. But, the mere format of education can not provide the real attribute required in learning. What is the attribute required? In simple expression it is the ability to grasp. It need not be always that, only some persons can grasp. Any average person can grasp, provided the right ambience and attempt prevail. The immediate response would be that no one is personally responsible for the ambience. Although broadly referred to as ambience, a set of intricately intertwined features hold the key to the process of learning. Let us look at the aspects that help learning. These perceptions may help to identify the critical nuances in learning.

     The Beginning:   It is important to know that a good foundation is essential for long term success. Therefore, a lot depends on how the fundamentals are understood. The focus to learning in childhood provides the advantage of attitude-building for learning. Extra care is essential for shaping the academic profile of every child. Though many children learn in a class, the variation among them may be largely from their domestic / parental back- ground.

     It is not a repeat of the popular notion that children of educated parents fare better. The issue here is slightly different. Parents who are themselves “educated” do not pamper the child for mere recitation of rhymes or alphabets. When the parents are not ‘all that educated’, they tend to accord ‘more than ideal ’importance to the child in the formative stages. The child loses balance and tries to crave for greater importance. Unwittingly the ambience ruins the child. Always we must appreciate every effort of the child without giving the impression that the child can get anything for the asking. From observation, I believe that children behave / dominate according to situation. Their potential is immense. Without keeping them in want we should feed them and provide all essentials. We need not shower lavish praise on the child. Ego amplification does not help the child or its life. The child’s real growth has to come from systematic effort. It conditions the child’s mind for work and achieving by effort. The right start is essential in any competition and life is a form of race. Through the race one has to sustain well-deserved supremacy. That comes by mastering the basics at the early age. One should strive to get ‘educated’ and not merely ‘qualified’; the latter type is more common. As laid out earlier, the process of learning is life-long; but acquiring a certain level of proficiency has defined limits. Every kind of learning can be made easier by knowing the right strategies of learning. The right basics and appropriate blending of expressive ability must be cultivated as integral components of daily life. Parents have a greater role to play, while the teachers / institutions can help creating the base / foundation.