Packing for Life-A Trip in Learning

If we were about to set off on a journey to an abandoned island, it would make sense to try to anticipate everything we might need…and then cram those things into whatever bag or luggage we were to bring along. It would take some creative thought to anticipate any potential mishap, but this type of planning would pay off. And yes, the bag would be cumbersome and travel would be inefficient, but in the end, it would be worth it.

On the contrary, if we were to cruise around town for the day, or even the week…we would likely only need our wallet and maybe a sweatshirt, as anything deemed necessary could likely be purchased at the nearest corner store. It would be insane to pack too much, as that would only slow our travel and most things could so easily be obtained in town.

I would argue that information and education is more similar to the latter situation, but that we treat high school learning like the former. That is, we are constantly saying things like, “He had better learn trig…what if he becomes an engineer?” “She had better learn statistics, what if she becomes a CEO?” The current logic is that we need to cram all of this information into the teenager’s mind before they leave high school, because if they miss it now, they’ll be forever ignorant. If they don’t know it upon graduation, what will they do?

The reality is that we continue to learn until our eventual death. Might they learn what they need in college? Might they learn what they need on the job or simply in real life? I bet there has never been a case where a young engineer required no training because they got an A in math in high school. No, they obviously will continue to learn, and will learn more and more specific content. 

Let’s stop packing as if we will live out the rest of our lives on an abandoned island, and teach realistically, as if our kids will go on to be lifetime learners. Let’s spread some of that content out, and maybe skip some of it entirely…if it never comes up.