I say it at the beginning of every semester, but this time I mean it. This semester is going to be the semester that I learn to learn, not to pass.
For many students, the emphasis of college is about getting the grade needed to move onto the next stepping stone in the myriad of obstacles to get to their dream job. This isn’t to say that the grades you get aren’t important because they are and are a vital part of getting where you want to go in life, but I think that oftentimes they take the center spotlight away from more important aspects of education. I’ve caught myself more times than I care to count learning something because I need to pass a quiz or write an essay that I know I will promptly forget when a given class is over. The number of mnemonics and quick ways I’ve found to memorize massive amounts of information is nauseating, especially in comparison to the amount of that information that I actually remember.
What is the purpose of putting so much time, effort and money into receiving a quality education if you aren’t going to actually retain anything you’re taught? The problem is assuredly a combination of more than just student mentalities, including the increased stress that schools put on students, pressure from parents to get good grades and other sources of student stress, but by changing your individual mentality about learning, you can take a small step in the right direction.
Photo: T. Mossholder
