What Truly Is Learning?

When you think of the term learning, what is the first thing that comes to your mind? Is it waking up at six o'clock in the morning to head to school, sitting in a classroom taking notes on a subject that is not preparing you for college, or maybe memorizing material that you will forget after you ace a test? In many instances people see school and learning as something that is required, not as something that could help them in becoming the person that God is calling them to be. Learning is essential because it helps us in discovering who we are and what we are destined to become in the future. Although school is designed to aid us in our learning experience, it is not the only place or thing that allows us to learn and broaden our view beyond ourselves.

My learning experience was about the same throughout middle school and high school. In middle school and high school, I took advanced classes that would help prepare me for the next grade and did all of my homework. School was just one of those things that came natural to me. I studied for my test and could tell you all the information like the back of my hand, but after that test we would move on to another topic and so I had to memorize more. I would forget some of the information I learned, and not be able to recall any of it after I got done with my seven classes. However, I did not learn as much in school as I did from other places.

Learning can come from anywhere and one of the places that I learn the best in is on the court. Playing basketball seems like a pastime thing to do, but in reality it can help to sharpen your senses which can better help you pick up and learn things. When working on a skill, lets say a jump shot, your mind is focusing on every little aspect from your hand placement on the ball, how wide your feet are, getting off the floor, and releasing at the top of your jump. All of these things may seem tedious but they are precisely the thing that can either cause you to make the basket or miss it. By shooting the same way every time, it will eventually allow you to develop a consistent shot and make you a sharp shooter. Focusing on the little things can also be applied in any learning environment you choose to dive into. The skill you pick up from a gym could also help you crack Riemann's hypothesis in the future or get any job that interest you.

In ¨Artes Liberales¨, Schall shakes up the very understanding of what many people see as learning. Schall states that ¨To be learning something is the greatest pleasure¨. In saying this Schall is trying to explain to us that learning is meant to be for people's enjoyment, not for them to just do more work. Education is yearning for someone to come and give it the proper attention it deserves. It should not be seen as something to dread, but as something you embrace. The type of education that Schall is trying to get us to understand is one that cannot be found in any university. Schall sees universities as useful places that help in ¨preparation of elite students… But they do not provide a genuine ¨liberal education¨¨. The education that he wants people to understand is through engaging in ¨conversation, dialect.¨ Think about this, if we were to step back and actually engage in conversation instead of instantly tossing out someone's ideas, we might actually learn and come to understand their position and what brought on that way of thinking. This alone is a very important aspect for us to understand through our learning experience, because it allows us to sit back and understand all the viewpoints that are there for us to see before we come to any conclusions.
All in all, learning is a very different animal then what anyone ever expected. It has so much more to do with the world around us and not just going to school everyday. Learning takes places everywhere, even right under our very noises. It happens in watching the world around us, in conversations with others, and discovering what our life purpose is. Learning is not meant to be a burden, but a pleasure that so many people can go their whole lives without knowing any better. This type of learning will not take place in everyone, but it is up to the select few that dive deep into learning to assist others in how to look for the truest form of learning. Anyone can have it, you just have to know how to get it.