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People are always calling me a "Know-it-all".
So I guess I've learned all there is to know and have no need of any further education.
I had better start cleaning out some of the useless knowledge so I will have room in my brain in case some new information comes along that I can use.
I've never stopped loving to learn. I believe that I learn something new each day and it's amazing. For instance, today I learned what bear scat looks like thanks to my dear friends on CD.
I've always been a self-learner. I've always loved to learn, but I didn't always love to sit in class - zzzzzzzzzzzzzz. I had to be interested in a topic, and if I was, I'd learn everything about it - inside and out. Fortunately, as I matured, I realized that some topics were necessary to learn in order to move on, and I tried as best I could to find something - anything - interesting in them.
Growing up, I never had any patience for 'mean' kids in general, and didn't have any problem letting them know that, but I do have 2 young kids who try too much to be "politically correct" IMHO. Today, I see (in my opinion) far too much time spent on learning social skills that should be learned at home (yes, I realize that there are those who don't teach these values at home). I also had the good fortune to have had good teachers who made learning fun and interesting. They also didn't push me to the limits in order to meet standards - not that they didn't have standards by which I was to meet - rather, I never had clue one about meeting standards, or what they were in the first place. At least not during the elementary years anyway - man, has that changed. Back then it was considered their jobs to make sure I was learning what I was supposed to, and they weren't hounded constantly by admin. to get a whole class of diverse learners on the same page at the same time. Today, I see far too much pressure at too young an age to achieve "standards" and personally, I believe that's causing more grief than benefit when I see kids lined up at the nurse's door for their daily dispense of meds (but I suppose that's another topic).
I'm curious about this. In another thread, it was pointed out that young children love to learn, and they do but that kids hate school. Now I was never one to hate school. I didn't do well at it but I didn't hate it, even in high school it was ok. I was just a D student (Late bloomer, I did very well in college) but I can't say I ever hated school. I could have done without many of my peers and the drama but school itself was ok.
So when, and why did you start disliking school? I recall having one teacher I didn't like and like any high schooler, skipped my share of classes but I can't say I ever disliked school. I didn't like high school but that was the whole social scene and the, constant, criticism of peers. It had nothing to do with the teachers or school itself. Just the cliques and mean stuff teens do.
This is exactly how I felt in high school. I would ditch classes by myself and go to the library, because the school that I went to was not a really conducive learning environment. It also didn't help that I looked like a freshman, while my peers looked like seniors.
College was entirely different for me also, after leaving the military and going back to school I was definitely more focused on my education, and would not let anyone stand in the way of my pursuit of knowledge.
I don't think that people lose the desire to learn, of course it does depend on the subject that the person is studying and whether the person sharing their knowledge thinks you're naive. I'm always trying to learn something that my parents don't know, but I do take in consideration what they know about a particular subject. But whenever they remind me of something that I already know or describe how something works, what they're saying goes through one ear and out the other.
Maybe I'm an odd one, but I always enjoyed school. Not every class or every subject, but overall I liked learning stuff. I think it helped that both my teachers and my parents made an effort from an early age to help connect the relevance of learning (whether in or out of school) to the outside world. I also had a pretty independent learning environment in elementary school, and even in high school had a sense of responsibilty over my own education. I think having a sense of power and control over things, rather than being forced along by others, helps. I think it's when people get bogged down with the idea that learning equals taking tests that learning or school loses its appeal; I think it's terrible how high-stakes testing have become a part of life from an early age, and think that overall that those changes might well hurt more kids than it helps. I also don't like excessive homework (or much at all in many cases, especially in elementary school).
I don't think it's the norm for people to stop having an interest in learning, although as you get older you can pick and choose what sorts of things interest you most. That doesn't mean most adults necessarily want the formality of a classroom learning experience. I make a living off of adults' interest in learning, so I know there are a lot of adults out there who haven't stopped enjoying learning. Plenty of them would be quite happy back in school, too, although with the benefit of taking only classes that interest them.
Never have hit the wall and maxed out my love of learning, personally. Never disliked school, from early childhood through college. I still miss school, and if somebody was footing the bill for it, I'd still be taking classes. As it is, I manage fine learning on my own. I love learning, whether in an academic environment or via independent exploration, reading, etc.
There have been occasional classes I did not enjoy - but the reasons for that did not involve a dislike for learning, or for school. School was my haven, and learning was and is fascinating. And loving learning has in no small part contributed to my love of imparting knowledge.
Never. But I do know people who did what they had to do (eg finish undergrad college) to get by in the world and would be happy never to have to take another class again.
I don't remember ever liking (primary, secondary) school , I had more fun annoying the unintelligent and angry prone teachers (which is the majority of them) than doing the school work. In high school, I calmed down a bit and just used the class time to do other more important things.
Anyhow, you are conflating learning with schools, the latter is mostly comprised of indoctrination.
Teaching does not have to be just the giving of knowledge - and often should not be.
There may be a component of that in every class, but there is a lot more, and better, learning to be done in class with other approaches by the teacher.
I do agree, a gifted teacher may be able to engage his/her students while giving knowledge. And I also do not disagree that a child can learn from a teacher.
But the difference I was pointing out is that people are generally more motivated when learning is relevant to them and they have control over the content. And just by the nature of the beast, schools must teach a set curriculum that does not allow much diverging from that curriculum.
I'm curious about this. In another thread, it was pointed out that young children love to learn, and they do but that kids hate school. Now I was never one to hate school. I didn't do well at it but I didn't hate it, even in high school it was ok. I was just a D student (Late bloomer, I did very well in college) but I can't say I ever hated school. I could have done without many of my peers and the drama but school itself was ok.
So when, and why did you start disliking school? I recall having one teacher I didn't like and like any high schooler, skipped my share of classes but I can't say I ever disliked school. I didn't like high school but that was the whole social scene and the, constant, criticism of peers. It had nothing to do with the teachers or school itself. Just the cliques and mean stuff teens do.
Is it natural for most people to lose that love of learning as they age? I kind of think it is. At least learning from others. I think that we are biologically programmed to grow up and break away from the previous generation so we can form family's of our own and keep the species going. I think a certain amount of rebellion is normal and that would include rebelion against what the older generation tries to teach you. I admit I didn't learn well in school. I just floundered. I never bought into what they were selling until I got into college and it was now ok to think for myself but I can't say I ever hated school. If I had, I would have been a drop out for sure.
What a great question, if framed within the context of schools.
I stopped enjoying school very early, around the 3rd grade. I despised the structure of school, and the memorization without context. My extreme dislike of the formal education process continued right through high school, up to the day of graduation. My grades were very mediocre, and somewhat deteriorated as I went on through high school.
I started liking school again once in college, and having more say in the direction of my studies. Having the "ownership" of my outcomes was all I needed to be engaged, and I blew right through college, eventually picking up a couple of Master Degrees.
However, I never pushed my kids in school, and when they developed their own various dislikes of the formal education process I went to a "pay for grades" routine that allowed them to be more engaged, even if some would say it was for the "wrong" reasons. Both sons graduated college, and have successful careers.
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