I was looking for a suitable image for “Learn”.
So I went to one of my favorite stock image sources and typed the word in.
“Learn”. I got a bunch of classroom images.
It hit me then, that’s not the way learning happens. You can be taught in a classroom, that’s one option. And being taught is something that “happens” to you.
Learning is different. You have to choose to learn, especially when the subject is hard. To be interested, to put in the effort and emotional labor. And even then, it may not happen, but what’s sure, is that you won’t learn at all if you don’t do all those things and invest yourself in the process.
This is more true than ever in this age when almost everything is available on some free platform. Information has been set free, you just have to choose what to consume.
Yet we continue to associate a classroom with learning, when most of what the classroom offers, is compliance. This was fine when what we needed were people capable of performing predetermined tasks, hammer a rivet or stamp a form. That’s no longer the case.
We need to unlock the true human potential and help people learn new skills. Learn to envision the next product, or create the connections that will make it happen. We need to change what we think about learning, and perhaps before, we need to change the images we have of it.