Główne pojęcia
Lack of intrinsic motivation and poor quality of educational content are the key reasons why kids and adults often fail to learn effectively.
Streszczenie
The author reflects on his own experience of learning about the concept of "entropy" in physics, which he did not recall from his school days. This leads him to ponder why kids and adults often struggle to learn effectively.
The author identifies two main reasons for this problem:
Purpose of learning: In school, the primary purpose of learning is often to clear exams, meet parental expectations, or comply with compulsory attendance, rather than out of genuine curiosity. This results in shallow and short-term learning, as opposed to deep, long-lasting knowledge acquisition.
Quality of content: Typically, school curricula are designed to help students memorize and pass exams, rather than to provide engaging, practical, and applicable knowledge. The content is often perceived as boring and complex, lacking real-world relevance.
The author suggests that to improve learning, individuals should cultivate a sense of curiosity, as this intrinsic motivation leads to more in-depth and lasting knowledge. Additionally, the author notes that the internet provides access to a wealth of free and entertaining educational content that can supplement traditional schooling.
Cytaty
"When we learn out of compulsion – an external validation – we actually do a limited learning which is mostly shallow and just sufficient enough to get that validation."
"But when we are curious, we learn for ourselves without any purpose or need to satisfy any external party. This learning or knowledge is mostly in-depth and stays with us for longer."