One cannot underestimate the value of a good education, but what does a good education consist of? Many people would argue that good educations require a good teacher, a nice school, enough money for school supplies and books, and so on. Certainly, I don’t want to deny that all of these things are helpful and perhaps even necessary for a good education. However, there’s one essential factor that is necessary for a good education – the will to always keep learning and never stop and the worldview that lets you see each moment in life as a possible learning experience. This is what I like to call “the learning mindset.”
A learning mindset makes for what is sometimes known as a “lifelong learner.” A lot of young people think that their learning days are over after leaving school – after that, you just need to find a job and then it’s smooth sailing. People like that are in for a nasty surprise. Life comes at you hard and fast, and you have to roll with the punches. Oftentimes, this will happen when it comes time for theory to be put into practice. For example, you can how to do finance all day in class, but there are some aspects to being a banker that you have to learn on the job from other bankers.
The learning mindset for education was something I picked up over the years, from my parents, my teachers, and some of the things I read. When my mother encouraged me to study for tests and read over the material, when my father taught me how to turn ordinary conversations into opportunities to practice asking questions, or when either of them told me that it was okay if I failed so long as I learned from that failure, they were instilling within me the learning mindset.
The learning mindset also requires persistence – the persistent need to keep learning and keep researching new topics. Sometimes, this distracts me from whatever tasks I have to do – there is an addictive element in reading and writing things that I like. However, the learning mindset is overall beneficial. I wouldn’t know as much if it weren’t for it.
Some might say that this sounds like a bookworm’s idea, and in some ways, they would be correct. Learning does require plenty of reading, and I do recommend everyone try to read some essential books. To cultivate the learning mindset, one must be engaged in everyday life and everyday conversation. The goal is to have other people serve as your teachers or at least as opportunities to learn from their example. You also have to learn to seize any opportunity to learn from another person. You must appreciate them as people who have something to show you and not as just another individual out to waste your time on inanities. The learning mindset does not allow you to dismiss other people in general as a waste of time. Certain individuals perhaps, but not most people.
The learning mindset, to be efficacious, cannot ignore the social aspect of learning. And that’s why I am indebted to the people who educated me. As someone with autism, communicating with others was my weakest point. However, my parents, my teachers, and my counselors all instilled into me the importance of listening and learning from others, even when I don’t want to. For that reason, I’ll always be grateful.