THE GIFT OF LEARNING (4): THE "HOW" OF LEARNING

Being ignorant is not so much a shame, as being unwilling to learn. - Benjamin Franklin

Gift of Learning

The dictionary defines learning as "the acquisition of knowledge or skills through experience, practice, study, or by being taught". And Wikipedia says "learning is a goal-directed act. It's acquiring new, or modifying and reinforcing, existing knowledge, behaviours, skills, values, or preferences and may involve synthesizing different types of information"

It doesn't matter how we chose to see it, we must understand that its an act - it doesn't happen all at once, but builds upon and is shaped by what is already known; whether we're acquiring a new skill or unlearning an old one. Learning may be viewed as a process, or an act that bring about changes - the changes produced are relatively permanent.

In acquiring knowledge we must realize that we do not have to spend our life in a classroom. There’s nothing wrong with taking a class, but there’s a lot to be learned from the world around you. You can read a book, or Newspaper, browse the web for interesting articles. We can learn a lot from having a conversation with a friend (or stranger), and even watching programs on TV. It doesn’t really matter where, or how you choose to learn, just learn.

However, no matter how much one may desire to learn there are certain written and unwritten guidelines to follow, that is the "How to Learn" - this is based on whether we are talking about formal or informal learning - that can make the process worthwhile. There are some rather general tips on "How to Learn" that we shall be examining as we progress in this series