To Have and To Hold
Students in the having mode have but one aim: to hold onto what they “learned,” either by entrusting it firmly to their memories or by carefully guarding their notes.
Erich Fromm, To Have or To Be?
“Do we need to know this for the test?”
Much of education has been reduced to memorizing facts to pass a test.
Not only is this an inefficient way to learn, but it is also a method that guarantees the loss of what little is learned.
It requires the most effort, and it produces the least benefit.
Knowing facts is not learning.
It has some utility, but it is not learning.
Understanding why the facts are the facts is learning.
Maybe you’re thinking, “Why should I care about learning? I’m not a student anymore.”
That’s where you’d be wrong.
There’s a reason they call a graduation ceremony a commencement.
It is the beginning of high-stakes education.
The tests are more crucial and are not announced in advance.
And you don’t have the option to get an extension on an assignment you failed to complete.
Here’s an example of how knowing is different than understanding.
If you get directions from a friend to somewhere new and don’t have access to a navigation app, you’ll want more than turn-by-turn information.
You’ll also want to understand where you are going.
If something goes wrong, a road is closed for example, you need to be able to figure out an alternative route.
It also is possible that you or your friend made a mistake giving or writing down the directions.
If you understand where you are going, you will notice that turning left will take you in the wrong direction and instead you will take a right.
This applies to new processes at work.
A list of the steps to follow is not enough. You want to know how those steps work together.
Understanding will not only help you remember the steps, but that will also give you the possibility of improving the process.
Understanding takes more time and effort initially.
But overall, it is easier and more efficient.
Don’t settle for knowing.
Keep asking why until you understand.
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