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Walking around an institution of higher learning, I’m sometimes shocked by how little learning seems to be emphasized. Such an observation isn’t a slight on my school by any means—I understand that there’s a finite amount of control professors wield over the motivations of the students, but there seems to be a certain aversion to learning the material beyond what is required to get the desired grade. For example, in many of my classes I’ve seen students grill the teacher about what vocabulary, formulas, and concepts they need to know for an upcoming test. More often than not, they’ll study these things alone and neglect to pick up on the subtleties that make the material remotely applicable and enriching. Dependence on study guides, flashcards, and problem sets creates a culture of narrow-mindedness, in which information is stockpiled, briefly retained, and dumped in time to re-load for the next exam. I understand that some degree of this is a necessary biproduct of standardized evaluations, but I would have anticipated something more of a burning desire to learn and truly understand the material (at least for in-major classes).
In many ways, college becomes a game. Who can do the research ahead of time to find the good (or easy) professors, memorize quickly the terms for the upcoming assessments, and race through courses to get their diploma the fastest? A friend of mine told me in conversation that she was shocked at how much interest I took in her paid research on a molecule that, when tagged in different places, could potentially permit thinning or thickening of blood. Most of the time, when she’d tell people that she planned to spend the next few hours “doing research,” the typical response would be one of commiseration. Why should people be sorry for someone who gets to study what they love? Someone who is able to foment their learning in a creative and challenging environment ought not be pitied, but envied!
Unfortunately, this simply isn’t the case. An education
shouldn’t be confined by four brick walls, or the Chemical Engineering Lab on
campus. It should be an iterative process, sharpened in conversations outside
of class, curiosity constantly ignited and satiated by exposing oneself to
different opinions, articles, journals, books, and the myriad of resources all
colleges offer an inquisitive mind. What a blessing it is, when we step back
objectively, to be in a place where we have no agenda beyond the strengthening
of our mind and shaping of our worldview.
Sean
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