Sokanu: The Blog

"I never let education get in the way of my learning". - Mark Twain

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Western society as a whole has reached a point where we have developed a very specific formula for achievement in life.  This path has been drilled into the heads of young individuals since their earliest days of school.  Life, according to our world, follows an extremely linear path. Through this linear path our lives are set out for us from the get go.  Any deterrence from this path results in people assuming that we are "weird" or abnormal.  So what is this "normal" linear path?

Traditionally, it goes something like this:

• Go To School
• Go To University
• Get A Job
• Get Married
• Buy A House
• Have Kids
• Retire
• See The World In Your Golden Years
• Etc...

This was a great system in another age, where we needed to pump out individuals to create industry and advance economies at a rapid pace.  That's why we referred to that time as the industrial revolution.  The problem is, last time I checked, we are not in the industrial revolution anymore. We are currently in something known as the information age, due to the internet and the instant access to trillions of pieces of data.

So what's the problem with the linear model?  Shouldn't it still work with today's society?  I mean, come on, university is still the most important thing that a young person can do today, right?  The answer is neither yes nor no.  The real answer is: it depends.

With the information age comes a unique perspective into the world of learning.  No longer are we confined to classrooms with teachers and old furniture to learn. With the Internet, iPads, laptops, smartphones and Kindle's, we can learn from anywhere, anytime. This was not possible even 5 years ago to the same degree.  The amount of change happening is staggering.  But what does this mean for this generation and their ability to learn?

The reason that the linear model depends is because each individual is unique.  Some of us need that structure and tradition in order to get through formal education.  Some of us need more of a challenge in the system, and so we take AP courses and more classwork in order to push ourselves.  Some of us are self-learners and will buck the system and thus will not "succeed" with the linear model.  This is where the uniqueness lies.

But what is the difference between education and learning?  Aren't they supposed to be the same thing?  That's the reason we go to school, right?  With the information age, there is an ever-increasing gap between the need for learning vs education.  Let's look at the differences in detail:

Learning

Learning can mean a plethora of things.  With books, magazines and the internet we can literally teach ourselves anything in the world at an extremely rapid pace.  Want to learn how to knit?  Simply type it into your search engine and boom!  Millions of pages are waiting for you to visit in order to teach you about knitting, one step at a time.  The price?  Absolutely nothing.  Still not convinced?  Want to have something more tangible?  There are thousands of published books available helping you learn to knit as well.

Learning is self-guided.  We learn because we want to.  In education, typically, we learn because we have to. This is a gigantic difference.  This is the differentiator in the information age.  We have the ability to learn things of our choosing, simply by owning a laptop and having an internet connection.  The linear path typically does not allow for learning to dominate.  Learning about something unique is something you do after you come home from school or work.  Usually this is called a hobby.

The reason that the linear path does not work with learning?  Because as humans, we are not linear by nature.  We are an organic, natural species. We grow at our own paces, taking steps in different directions each day.  Each individual person wants to learn different things at different times in their lives.  Sometimes this is through the use of education, sometimes not.  The point is that with the learning method, we cannot paint a line over how we are supposed to learn. 

But how does this differ from getting an education?  What is the difference between our open, organic method in learning and the linear version in education?

Education

Let me start by saying that education is a good thing for the right people.  This is not an education-bashing post at all.  The fact of the matter however, is this: that education offers a certain path for a certain type of person.  If you want to become a lawyer, doctor, accountant, researcher, manager, etc... you need to go to school.  The way that the world works is that you must have that educationary requirement in order to progress to the first level of a career.  Most professionals need traditional education to progress to their first level and then continue onwards.

Then again, most professionals will follow the linear path.  And there is nothing wrong with this.  The problem comes when a lot of creative, organic individuals go through education, hating it, because they were forced to.  Instead of taking the opportunity to learn about things that they love, education forces them into a straight line. They learn because they have to, not because they want to. 

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In the information age, there are no rules.  We can learn instantly and abundantly, without the aid of a classroom or teachers.  There are both positives and negatives to learning by yourself rather than in a structured environment.  But what it comes down to is the person that you are.  Uniqueness is the most important thing when it comes to learning.  By determining what career path you will follow and the way you best learn, you can then decide what path you will go down.  Just remember, that path is not linear, it is organic.