Why Learn…

“The illiterate of the 21st Century are not those who cannot read and write but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn.”
― Alvin Toffler, Powershift: Knowledge, Wealth, and Power at the Edge of the 21st Century

I thought learning is as natural as breathing. Beginning with life, learn to breathe, learn to eat, learn to talk, learn to walk, learn to do, learn to live, learn to be. Though not a master yet, but have been in the process of learning which comes naturally. So?

To Learn…

I do not feel the usual excitement when registering for the module. Simply because I have already “learned”. I have acquired information both “treasure and rubbish”, even turned some of these into knowledge or “precious stone.” Well, I may not be the “grand master” yet, but have built my “Ng Sect” (haha, my family lah) up on Mount (Bukit) Merah. So what else to learn.

Then I discovered! When I have “mastered” then I am “old schooled”…

To Unlearn…

What is “to unlearn”? Yesterday, I asked a senior friend of mine aged 75, what he thinks about this phrase, “to unlearn”. His replied, “It is impossible to unlearn.”

It is very difficult to see the need to learn when I remain in Mount Merah. Until I decide to venture down this mountain, then I realize there is another higher mountain, Bukit Faber (Mount Faber lah) just road down the path.

So having climbed down from Mount Merah, I learned a new catch phrase: “Just asked google.” And google said: “Unlearning is about moving away from something—letting go—rather than acquiring. – Margie Warrell.”[1] So, unlearning is about letting go. Then Google speaks again: “Unlearning is an ever-changing, fluid process of exploration by using different sets of questions about everything we know and value to discover unknowns. – Po Chi Wu Ph.D. (Jacob’s Staff)”.[2]    

So, now, “to unlearn is to use different sets of questions to enquire on everything I learn.”

In the words of Lao Tzu, “To attain knowledge is to add things everyday. To attain wisdom is to remove things everyday.” Thus “to unlearn.”

 

To relearn…

Having “unlearn”, to relearn comes naturally. New answers to old thoughts produce new information. Renew learning. Learning requires attention or focus, so to relearn is to refocus. Herein lies my greatest challenge – my ego. To admit that my knowledge and my wisdom on the subject may not be relevant in this era; thereby refocus and relearn is a humbling experience.

It begins with the mind…

 

Lifelong Learning or Metacognitive Learning…

In life, there are times and things which I have to choice, even though God in His love has given me the freedom of choose. I will with all my heart choose not to “aged”, but I have no choice. Aging is not a choice, but how I “aged”, I can decide. And that is the mercy of God.

What is Lifelong learning? Quoting from Lifelong Learning Council Queenland Inc, “Lifelong learning may be broadly defined as learning that is pursued throughout life: learning that is flexible, diverse and available at different times and in different places.”[3]  

Lifelong learning beings with the mind of the learner. This can be boiled down to the following four phrases: 

1.    Learning to know – Acquiring new tools

2.    Learning to do – Applying new tools

3.    Learning to live – Appreciating new tools

4.    Learning to be – Arriving; be transformed…

Lifelong learning cycle is anchored by the idea of “learning to learn” or meta-learning.

Paul said, “Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead.” (Phil. 4:13 NIV)

This should be my attitude towards Lifelong Learning. (630 words)

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[1]http://www.forbes.com/sites/margiewarrell/2014/02/03/learn-unlearn-and-relearn/#14e574ec51c8

 

[2] https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/jacobs-staff/201507/literacy-learning-unlearning-relearning

 

[3] http://www.llcq.org.au/01_cms/details.asp?ID=12