Does learning take place only at school, college and university?
Formal Education gives you an identity and takes you ahead personally and professionally. It is indispensable.
Education, learning, teaching, studying takes place everywhere, it is accessible only if one is observant. A person absorbs information in different ways, be it an auditory process, a visual experience or an emotional trigger.
Right from the minute one wakes up, a plethora of sounds and images are presented in the form of daily routine, the running tap water while brushing, the smell of freshly-boiled milk detested by most children, the sharp turning of the geyser with the hotwater sizzling out into the bucket, the slish-slash sound of the latch, most of this with the background of family members nitter-natter, or the burrrr sound of the vehicles, if you are in a quiet locality, the chirping of the birds and sudden flutter of the birds going about their routine.
Science and art and present everywhere around us. All we need to do is look with a keen eye. Have a word with your parents, and you will be enlightened financially. Take a gander at the kitchen with everything at one arm distance, or even one glance distance. Just watch the homemaker in the kitchen, her/his hands move faster than her eyes, she/he knows where everything is. Watch one of your parents drive the car. They look on the road but can change gears, slow down, accelerate, roll down the window, turn on and off the AC without actually looking. The same way a child knows in and out of his school, recall the last PTM you went along with her/him. Her/his legs catch speed at the entrance and are hardly on the ground rearing to visit every corner with coloured clothes, trying to experience the same school emotions without a school bag, but with a different companion this time.
The summer vacation is one of the best teachers. Each time, the school re-opens, you are compared to the person existing withing you a few months ago. A change in personality, a feeling of growing a year older. Even after your birthday, you don’t experience such a large change. The visit to the grand-ma’s house, catching up on films and TV series missed during the academic year, learning to cook that breakfast, or re-heat the breakfast the morning you chose to wake up late, participating in household activities, understanding that mangoes need to be kept in water, can be eaten with or without the peel, whether it needs refrigeration or not, making mik shakes, or pickle, or muraba, all contributes to learning. Interacting with cousins who hail from different cities, dressing up for functions and trying to be extra careful while consuming the colourful-looking dishes are as important as attending school.
Travel is another teacher, it makes you look at the world with a different pair of eyes. Visiting contrasting cities, being a part of the noteworthy culture, finding yourself outlandish but with a streak of sanity teaches you a lot in the bargain. Travel in the school bus, the cab, your car, your two-wheeler, the auto, the cycle rickshaw, the metro, the aircraft, each one is a unique experience on its own. You feel like a different person when in a different mode of transport.
Schools and colleges are the best place to be in to receive formal education. Along with them, each day anywhere is a unique learning experience. Make the best of each situation, grab every opportunity that comes with a practical experience.
Questy Musings is a musing with a question. Where do you think learning takes place? Also do you think learning is a natural experience or can it be enforced? Why is school given importance during childhood? What values does it inculcate apart from formal education? Well, my views are in the form of this write-up. Looking forward to hear yours.
This post is written as a part of Blogchatter’s #CauseAChatter program. Writing with a purpose is a concept that made me delve into the realisation that a word written, spoken or heard can bring about a change. Let’s change our thoughts, our perspectives, think and act towards the benefit of the people we interact with in any way.
Questy Musings 