Why Does Any of This Matter?
If you’ve made it this far, you’ve either skipped to this section, skimmed the first bit, or actually read through my tips. No matter how you got here, it’s all good because it doesn’t matter whether or not you’ve read those tips if you don’t understand why such advice is useful in the first place. I can’t tell you what or how to think, but I can make a strong point about the value of scholarship in your life. If you keep reading, that’s exactly what I try to do.
Why should you even care about scholarship?
Mandatory and structured education has not been around forever, and its invention has led to many great new innovations.
While such innovations are without a doubt beneficial, education for the sake of innovation is not the only reason why we should all strive to be scholarly. Scholastic excellence should be pursued for the sake of knowledge, self-betterment, and moral imperative.
Knowledge is available to those who will spend the time and effort procuring it. Learning is the obvious and straight path to gaining knowledge: attend classes at an institution to gain information from people who have studied the same knowledge before; gather insights from practitioners know more than you do about a specific subset of human knowledge. Knowledge has many practical purposes so naturally, having more knowledge allows you to make wise and quick decisions with a sense of finality and confidence. Being knowledgeable in any one area holds immense value that you can use to your benefit for the rest of your life.
Self-betterment is something that can occur as you live your life day by day. Learning is a key area of our lives today, and working towards useful attitudes and habits in our learning will naturally lead to self-improvement. More importantly, as you gain knowledge, you will invariably gain information about yourself and what makes you operate day to day on both technical and emotional levels; such information is invaluable and can be used to help you live a satisfying, meaningful, and personally significant life. I cannot prove these claims except in knowing that they have been true in my life so far. Take it as you will, but I can tell you it’s worth a shot.
Finally, scholarly pursuits have an intrinsic moral calling. We are granted access to knowledge and a solid education simply because our society requires a base level of education in all of us to function effectively. We are fortunate to have such a high standard of learning. Since we have such educational privileges, it is our responsibility to utilize the gifts of knowledge and education to make wise decisions for ourselves and those that don’t have the same access to knowledge.
By learning and becoming more scholarly, you continue to build yourself up to a position in which you can make lasting and beneficial changes in society and the world outside of our own spheres. Education grows our sphere of influence and provides us with power and ability; while we learn, we must remember to use knowledge, ability, and social power wisely and responsibly to improve the lives of people around us.
Of course, on a less serious note, learning is just plain fun!
Learning To Learn
No matter what specific area of study you chose to pursue, in college, university, or during your own time, you will have to use the mental skill of learning to complete courses.
Learning is something we all do every day, and it comes naturally as a function of being alive and conscious. It’s a bit like breathing. In fact, it is even more like breathing when you consider the fact that breathing, like learning, happens without your conscious decision or input BUT, can also be controlled and guided with careful decisions for specific purposes.
That is, Learning:
- Happens whether we like it or not. This occurs largely through our experiences.
- Can be actively directed and practised.
The beauty of considering learning in this way is that we can assume a mentality of training and practice to improve our skills in the area of learning.