My Education Started After College
Have you ever vomited information onto an exam only to forget what you wrote an hour later?
I’m guilty of doing this several times throughout college. I thought this was the process of learning and it seemed like everyone else was doing something similar so it must be right.
Although my grades told me I was a stellar student, my sometimes embarrassing command of subjects I “aced” suggested otherwise. I quickly understood that although I was good at playing the grade game, I sucked at the game which mattered.
I fooled people into believing I was competent, but I couldn’t actually leverage what I “learned” in the classroom.
I doubted how much I learned throughout my college years. It wasn’t until after I left 6 months ago that I slowly realized how little I learned.
Freedom to Choose
I’ve never done well with authority. I know how to appear happily compliant, but I secretly resent being told what to do and how to do it.
While learning was an escape from my otherwise lackluster life, school was the prison from which I often had to escape. Anyone who’s moved through the traditional US education system knows that you’re told what to learn, how to learn, and most importantly, how to pass the written exam.
Our performance was constantly evaluated on subjects which we didn’t get to choose. Although I was in “advanced” classes and gained some flexibility, I still largely had to learn what was prescribed by the roadmap to graduation.
My roadmap was made by people removed from my interests, skills, goals, and aims. Instead, it was designed to produce a generally useful workforce. If I were to deviate from the prescribed path, there would be hell to pay and I was sure to be a failure.
I was given the chose between option A and B, but couldn’t easily pursue an option F. I resented school because of the restrictions on what I could choose to learn. I felt this way throughout high school and college.
While I had more free time than I do now to pursue outside interests, I did so at my own risk. To pursue other subjects I was interested in I either had to sacrifice time doing work for my other classes or my free time which I usually used to connect with friends.
Curiosity Leads
I don’t have requirements and deliverables tied to what I learn. The lack of requirements allows me to use my free time to learn something I’m curious about for no other reason than I want to.
So far, my curiosity has led me to read more about aerospace, cyberspace, writing, art, and philosophy. While some of these topics were for pure pleasure, many of them are things I am curious about how they affect me or my work.
I am thankful I now have the freedom and flexibility to investigate a topic on a whim. As long as I’m not working, I don’t need a justification for any particular line of inquiry. I have enough free time to learn and build meaningful relationships.
My freedom to learn as I see fit has led to learning being enjoyable again. I’m following a deeply human process in a more natural feeling way. I believe I’m slowly connecting more with my inner humanity by inquiring about my world because of intrigue instead of fear.
Retention Versus Regurgitation
Now, I’m about learning things I’m curious about and have an interest in learning for retention. I’ve come to believe that knowledge is potential power. It only becomes power when acted upon and actualized.
I adopted my new belief about knowledge from Tom Bilyeu. Viewing knowledge as potential power forces me to focus on the utility of whatever I’m fascinated with. It’s no longer adequate to only regurgitate what I learned.
My mental shift has also required me to relearn how to learn.
When regurgitation was the goal I depended heavily upon my rote memory. Unfortunately for me, rote memory doesn’t cut it when you’re trying to connect knowledge together and use it.
Now I use methods like concept mapping and applied examples as I’m able.
The techniques I mentioned are some which help ensure I understand the why and the how, not just the what. Although slower, these techniques help me integrate the knowledge so that I can access it long after I finish with the related project/readings.
Implementing this new way of learning has been frustrating. I often feel dumb because things that used to take me 20 minutes to “learn” now take me 2–3 times longer.
I realize this is because I’m committing these ideas to long-term memory instead of short-term memory, but that logical realization isn’t as helpful at the moment I’m struggling with the material.
Wrapping Up
I have slowly fallen in love with learning again now that I’m out of the school system. Not only do I believe that I’m actually learning for the first time, but I’m starting to see some results. I recently used an engineering workflow to more effectively create tutorial videos.
I’m once again guided by my curiosity, like a child. I’m encouraged by this as children often ask better questions than adults since their minds are freer from assumptions and clutter.
I hope that as I continue to learn through inquiry and embrace material retention I’ll be able to channel this property as well.
Although my new focus on understanding and using knowledge often leaves me feeling dumb and inadequate, I believe the short-term pain is worth the long-term benefits of being able to actually use the knowledge past test day.
